


Opposites Attract

by AuthenticallyAlia



Category: Chris Kendall - Fandom, Hogwarts Au - Fandom, Phan, Pj Ligouri - Fandom, crabstickz, dan and phil, kickthepj, kid!phan - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Harry Potter AU, Hogwarts AU, M/M, Phan - Freeform, Phan Angst, Phan Comfort, Phan Fluff, Phanfiction, after the books, don't worry they get together later, gryffindor!phil, kid!phan, platonic phan, slytherin!Dan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5404730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthenticallyAlia/pseuds/AuthenticallyAlia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil is a pureblood at the age of 11 who gets his letter to Hogwarts and meets an unlikely friend in Diagon Alley</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Phil Lester was eleven years old when he got the letter he had been waiting for his whole life. He was nervous, of course. What house would he get in? Would people like him? Could he even do magic? There had been little clues to say he could, but he still had doubts. When his letter finally arrived and his mother handed it to him with a broad smile on her face, he squealed and ran about the house in elation.

  
“I’m going to Hogwarts, I’m going to Hogwarts!” he chanted, excited.

  
Since Phil was from a wizarding family, his preparation for Hogwarts had been easy and he had been to Diagon Alley before. He was fascinated by everything still, and nearly screeched with joy when he got his wand. It was unicorn tail hair, eleven inches, flexible, and made of cedar. He, upon trying it out, caused a bookcase to catch on fire. Mr. Ollivander smiled broadly, saying that this wand was beyond perfect for the eleven-year-old boy, while he and Phil’s mother desperately tried to put it out while he was sent outside to wait for her. He sat on the curb and was looking around forlornly and examining the other wizards and witches when he caught eyes with a curious-looking boy of about his age. The boy had brown hair and brown hair, but what was curious was that he was alone. No parents. Phil stood up and walked over to the boy.

“Are you alone? Do you need help finding your mum or dad?”

“Why do you care?”

“Well, you looked right miserable when I saw you just now and I was wonderin’ if you needed help findin’ someone. D’you have a mum?”

“Yes, but she isn’t here. I’m here alone, my parents don’t really like that I’m a wizard. They threw a bloody fit when I got my letter.”

Phil stared at the boy. He didn’t know it was possible for parents not to like their wizard children. He didn’t like that this boy was alone, and he wanted to help.  
“Do you know your way around here?”

“Not really, I just have this list.” He pulled out the list that was sent in the letter.

“Well, I can help you, my mum’s just inside the wand shop, Ollivander’s. We can lead you around. My name’s Phil.” he held out his hand.

The boy took his hand and shook it. “Thanks, Phil. I’m Dan. I still haven’t got my wand, so can we go in there?”

“Sure, come on! Wands are amazing, you’ll love yours.”  
Phil led him by the hand into Ollivander’s, grinning. He knew that he had improved Dan’s day. He began to notice things he hadn’t on the street: Dan was wearing muggle clothes, consisting of a black t-shirt with white stars around the collar and strangely tight black jeans. Phil made a mental note to ask him about muggle culture later. Phil was taken from his thoughts when his mother stood up from the magically rebuilt bookcase.

“Phil, I thought I told you to wait outside.”

“I know, mum, but my friend Dan hasn’t got a wand and he’s muggle-born so he doesn’t know where to get his stuff for Hogwarts and his parents aren’t here cause they don’t like that he’s a wizard and can we help him out please?” Phil said, all in one breath. He inhaled. Dan was staring at him with a curious look on his face and the only thing Phil could think of to do was smile at him. His mother looked from Phil to Dan, thinking.

“Oh, all right,” she said, smiling at the boy in muggle clothes. “We’ll help this young man out. Dan, is it?”

“Yes’m.” Dan said, looking down. He looked embarrassed, but Phil couldn’t understand why.

“Alright then, Dan. Do you need a wand?”

“Yes’m.”

“Well, Mr. Ollivander, would you help this boy get a wand?”

The old, feeble looking man approached Dan. He looked him over, nodded, and walked into the depths of the shop to retrieve three candidates for Dan’s wand. “Hmmm…these three say they like you, but each is incredibly different. How interesting.”

“They say they like me, sir?”

“You don’t know? Oh no, of course not. I should’ve guessed. You see, Daniel, the wand chooses the wizard. Wands have consciousnesses. They have feelings and preferences. Different wands prefer different people. For instance, your friend here. Phil Lester, he’s a bright soul. Brave. Happy. Impulsive. Good. Inspired. Chivalrous. So, the wand that chose him was one that liked that personality. Cedar, eleven inches, flexible, with a unicorn tail hair core. The wands that initially liked him were all of similar make. However, the three that spoke up for you are all drastically different. So, curious.”

Dan gulped. Phil wondered why Dan seemed so nervous all the time. Although, he was a little creeped out by Mr. Ollivander’s speech on the consciousness of wands. He pulled out his own. He looked at it and mumbled, “You picked me?” Then looked up to watch Dan get chosen by a wand.

Dan picked up the first of the three, which was light in colour, but heavy in his hands. Ollivander said it was beech, phoenix feather core, firm, and thirteen inches. He turned it over in his hands and the held it firmly and swished it. A few sparks sputtered out, but nothing flashy. Mr. Ollivander shook his head and Dan put down the wand, picking up the next one. Compared to the last one, this was weightless. He almost threw it to the ceiling, as he was bracing for another heavy wand. Mr. Ollivander informed Dan that this wand was pine, unicorn tail hair core, floppy, and eight inches. He swished it, and nothing came out, but there was a slight smell of vanilla that suddenly wafted through the air. A flash of a smirk flitted across Ollivander’s face, but he shook his head. “Try the last one,” he said quietly.

Dan nervously picked up the last wand. Phil wondered if he wasn’t just muggle-born. What if he was a muggle? Dan would be crushed. Phil crossed his fingers and murmured under his breath, “Please work please work…”

Dan held the wand, which seemed rather balanced in comparison to the other two. He looked at it and realised that in its own unique way, it was beautiful. It was smooth and long, the hilt a beautifully carved grip with intricate aztec-looking designs on it. It was dark brown, and seemed warm in his hand. “Kingwood,” Ollivander said. “thirteen inches. Firm. Dragon heart-string core. Imported from Brazil. Go on, give it a try.”

Dan nervously swished the wand, and a trail of sparks so powerful he almost fell over appeared out of his wand. He looked at it, then at Ollivander, Phil, and Phil’s mum. They were all smiling. He smiled back. Phil looked at Dan, and thought how lucky he was to have run into this muggle-born wonder of a boy. He ran up and hugged Dan, who seemed surprised at the physical contact. Phil pulled away and smiled.

“You’re a wizard, Dan!”

Dan smiled a little at Phil. Mr. Ollivander coughed.

“I’m sorry, but that will be ten galleons.”

Dan looked at Phil. “Galleons?”

Phil came to the sudden realisation that Dan probably only had muggle money, if any money at all. “It’s…wizard money. I can pay for it if you want, I get an allowance.”

“That won’t be necessary, Phil, I think the young man needs a wand, and I won’t let you pay for it. I will. Here you go, Mr. Ollivander.” She handed Ollivander ten gold coins, then looked at Dan with a mix of pity and maternal affection. “Now, Dan. Do you have any money to buy the rest of your supplies?”

“No’m.” Dan looked down at his feet, kicking one shoe into the hardwood of the shop.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll buy your things.” Dan’s head snapped up, and he stared at Mrs. Lester in wonder. “No one should be out of supplies because the haven’t the money. Honestly I don’t know how muggle-borns do it yearly. Is there an exchange system for muggle money? I haven’t a clue. Well, that’s beside the point. You’ll get your school supplies, Dan. Don’t worry.”

Phil looked at his mother with a new sense of pride. He turned towards Dan. “Come on, then! Today is going to be the best day ever!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally September 1st, and Phil and his new best friend go to Hogwarts for the Sorting Ceremony.

The two boys sat on the Hogwarts Express, and Dan was looking around and out the windows excitedly. Phil watched the other boy with admiration. They had seen each other multiple times over the past few months, always becoming better and better friends. Phil loved the muggle quirkiness about Dan. He found it fascinating that someone could have no knowledge whatsoever of magic for their whole life. He had loved it when Dan got so excited after going through the portal to platform 9 ¾. He watched Dan stare, wide-eyed, at everything. The scenery, his new barred owl (called Kanye, which Phil didn’t understand), or Phil’s calico cat, Winston. Phil was infected by Dan’s excitement and began to ask questions about muggle life.

“How do you travel places without brooms?”

“Well, we have trains but also personal cars—“

“You have personal train cars?”

“No, automobiles. Like at the muggle side of the train station. The big moving vehicles. We travel short distances with those, longer ones by train, and over oceans by plane.”

“How do you talk to friends without owls?”

“Well, I don’t have many people I talk to, but most people use phones or texts.”

“What are those?”

Dan smiled. “They’re like electronic devices that—see, here, I’ve got one. Look.”

Phil looked at the rectangle that Dan was holding. It was beat up and scratched, but it had a smooth glass screen and only four buttons. One on the front, one on the top, and two on the sides. Dan pressed the front button, which he called the “home button” and a picture showed up on the glass. Phil jumped. “How did you do that?” he asked, bewildered.

Dan smiled, enjoying Phil’s bewilderment. “It’s electronic. It uses electricity. See, there, it shows the time. Then, if I swipe like this—“ Dan dragged his thumb across the screen “You can see other things that it can do, like text people.”

“What’s text?”

“It’s when you send an electronic letter to someone. Watch.” He tapped on a lime green square that had appeared on the screen and tapped on a rectangle that was labeled “Mum.” Then, he touched letters on the glass and they appeared on the device.

“Woah! You’re making the letters appear!” Phil leaned in closer.

Dan smiled at Phil and then continued typing into the phone. Phil watched him type “im on the train to hogwarts. made a friend. love you.” and then hit a button that said “Send.”

“How long does it take for them to get the letter if it doesn’t travel by owl?”

“Look.” Dan held up the screen and Phil read under the message “Read 11:13”.

“You mean she read it that quickly? How is that possible?”

“I guess it’s just the magic of—er, the wonders of technology.” Dan looked back at the phone, and seemed upset about something.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asked.

“She’s not responding.”

“Maybe she’s busy?”

“No, she wouldn’t be today. It’s Saturday. She’s just ignoring me.”

“Why would she do that?” Phil asked genuinely. Why would a mother ignore her child when he texted her “love you”?

“She’s still upset about me going to Hogwarts, I guess.” He looked out the window for half a second and then changed the subject. “How do wizards travel?”

“We have brooms! There are all these different types, and the best kind is the Firebolt. It’s so fast and sleek and easy to control, I really want one someday. First years aren’t allowed brooms though, so I’ll wait until next year. Brooms can fly really fast and they’re really agile so you can turn at the drop of a hat, so they’re helpful in Quidditch—“

“Quidditch?” Dan asked, cocking his head.

“Oh, it’s the best sport in the world! You see, there are seven players in total, two beaters, one seeker, three chasers, and one keeper. The seeker tries to find the snitch, which is worth 150 points. The chasers have to try to score goals with the quaffle, which gives them ten points if they score. The beaters try to hit the bludgers off of the other players. Nasty things, those bludgers. The keeper tries to keep the other team’s chasers from scoring. The game ends when the snitch is caught, and whoever has the most points wins. It’s amazing!”

Dan grinned, and Phil did too. They sat in silence for a while, just thinking about how different everything was now. Phil had been preparing for this his whole life, always knowing what would happen. But he knew that this was all a surprise to Dan. He hadn’t expected his letter, or his wand, or his books or owl or robes. He had no idea what was about to happen. Phil thought he could help.

“Dan,” he said. “do you want to know anything about Hogwarts? This is probably all new for you.”

“I’ve got a few questions, yeah. First of all, what sorts of classes are there?”

“There’s potions, charms, transfiguration, herbology, and lots more. I can’t remember them all. You’ll get your list of classes after breakfast the day after the sorting ceremony.”

“Sorting ceremony?”

“You’ll get sorted into a house. There are four: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Gryffindor takes the brave and chivalrous. Hufflepuff takes the loyal and hardworking. Ravenclaw takes the wise and studious. Slytherin takes the cunning and ambitious. I really hope we get the same house, you’re the only person I know.”

“I wonder which one we’ll be put in.”

“No one ever knows until they get sorted. The hat’s a wise one, and he knows where to put you.”

“Wait, the hat?”

“Oh, there’s a hat they put on your head and he tells you what house you’re in.”

“Er, okay then. There’s flying broomsticks, owls, and magic portals into train stations. Why not a talking hat that can read my mind?”

Phil grinned. “Oh, Dan. There is so much more. You have no idea. The the Headmistress can turn into a cat. The History of Magic professor is a ghost, which, by the way, are common in Hogwarts. Just wait until you meet Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. The herbology professor fought against Lord Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. There is so many queer things about Hogwarts, just wait.”

Dan was staring at Phil, his mouth slightly open. He seemed to realise this, and closed it. He folded his hand on his knees and beg to fire questions at Phil, growing more excited for Hogwarts with every answer.  
It felt like no time at all had passed when the train began to slow down. Dan looked out the window. It was dark. Phil began gathering his things. Dan followed suit. Once the train stopped, they began walking off onto the platform, constantly being close to separation due to the wave of older students who were pushing past. However, they were dead-set on staying together, so they always waited for the other when they became separated. Soon, they heard the gruff voice shouting “First years, over ‘ere!” and they grouped with a crowd of people their own age. The man who was leading them was tall and broad, with a black beard and hands the size of bin lids. He would have been intimidating if it hadn’t been for the wide smile spread across his face. He seemed to love his job.

“He fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, too.” Phil mumbled to Dan. Dan looked at Phil, confused, and Phil reminded himself that he would need to explain the Battle to Dan in further detail. Phil looked at the tall frame of Rubeus Hagrid and smiled. He was at the place of legends. The group of first years began making their way to the beautiful castle. Phil and Dan shared glances when some new, unimaginably fantastic thing would come into their vision. They saw a line of carriages filled with second years all the way to seventh years. Phil pointed out the cool, skeletal horses pulling the carriages, but Dan didn’t seem to be able to see them. Phil wondered why, but dismissed the thought, as they soon caught sight of the castle itself. It was enormous, with ramparts and battlements and towers and pointed roofs. It was completely stone, and little orange lights of windows glimmered on the black stone like stars. The castle looked like it hadn’t changed in a thousand years, but Phil knew that a lot of it was new after the damages from the Battle.

The children made it to the large double gates that marked the grounds of the school and walked in with a mix of excitement and terror. Both Dan and Phil were excited to start this new life, but terrified to leave their old, familiar previous lives. Phil though to himself, At least I’ve got a friend to spend this new life with. The first-years were ushered into the atrium, and then through two grand double doors made of mahogany into what could only be the Great Hall. There four long tables filled with students who had arrived before the young newcomers. Phil tried to discern the tables and decided that Slytherin was on the far left, then Hufflepuff next to it, then a wide aisle that the first years were walking down, and on the right of the room was Ravenclaw closest to the aisle and Gryffindor on the far right. He understood this placement; the ongoing feud between Slytherin and Gryffindor made it sensible to put the two as far away from each other as possible. All this went through Phil’s head quickly, and the group was soon in front of the stool holding the Sorting Hat.

The Sorting Hat sang its song and then the Headmistress and transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall, began to call out names. She, for some reason unknown to Phil, called him first out of all the children. He shakily made his way to the platform and sat on the stool. He made eye contact with Dan and held it, and Dan looked back. Phil tried to forget the entire school was staring at him, and imagined it was just Dan there, watching the Sorting. McGonagall put the hat on to Phil’s head for barely a fraction of a second before it shouted “GRYFFINDOR!”

Phil grinned widely and got down from the stool, heading to the table to meet his housemates. He looked back at Dan and smiled encouragingly. He knew they would be in the same house. They had to be.  
McGonagall continued calling out names, in alphabetical order this time, until she got to H and called out Harrington, Hemmings, Howell. Phil involuntarily caught his breath as Dan got up onto the stool and sat, staring at Phil. Phil noticed that Dan was shaking. He wanted to run up there and hug him, tell them it was okay, they’d definitely be in the same house, same classes, they’d be together through it all. Dan and Phil staring so hard at each other, Phil trying to look supportive and happy and Dan trying to look confident, that Phil barely noticed when McGonagall put the hat on Dan’s head. Phil smiled encouragingly at Dan. They would have the best of times together, in the common room playing pranks, doing their homework together, looking over each other’s notes and staying up late for hours in their bedroom talking about life, or--

“SLYTHERIN!”

Dan’s face fell. Phil stared into space. Dan wasn’t a Slytherin, he was too nice. Slytherins couldn’t be so nice…right? Phil more than anything wanted to run to Dan, tell him it was a mistake, that he should have been in Gryffindor. Dan was called to his new table by his new housemates, and Phil tried to keep eye contact with him, try to communicate that it would be okay, but the kids at Dan’s table started trying to make conversation with him. He looked down as the Sorting continued, and Phil turned back to his table. As beautiful as Hogwarts was, Phil couldn’t believe that he and his only friend had been separated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil's first day at Hogwarts goes horribly wrong.

The boys had been ushered out of the Great Hall soon after dinner the night before, and their two common rooms seemed to be on the opposite side of the castle. Gryffindor common room was at the top of a tower on the west side of the school, overlooking the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid’s hut. The Slytherin common room was underground, in a dungeon, on the east side of the school. It was the first years’ first morning at Hogwarts, and Phil could not have been unhappier.  
Before breakfast the morning after the Sorting, Phil intercepted Dan before entering the Great Hall. They needed to talk.

“Dan!” Phil ran up to Dan and hugged him, pretending not to notice the stares of other students. “We need to talk to the Headmistress! You can’t be in Slytherin, you’re a Gryffindor, no doubt at all! There must have been a mistake, Slytherins can’t be as nice as you—“

“Phil.” Dan said firmly, catching Phil off guard.

“Yes?”

“I’m not leaving Slytherin. The Sorting Hat said I belonged in Slytherin, and he made a very convincing case, so that’s where I’ll stay.”

“What? No, you can’t—Slytherins aren’t so nice—Slytherins are supposed to be bullies and stuck up and rude and you’re not you’re so nice—and you’re muggleborn! Slytherin isn’t really known for accepting—“

“Phil,” Dan said again, softer this time. “Slytherins aren’t all mean. I talked to a few last night. I met this second year girl named Cat who was nice enough to tell me how it all works. How it is to be a Slytherin. How a lot of people think all Slytherins are evil or bullies because during the Battle here some of their parents were Death Eaters and a lot of them were mean, even though the quieter, nicer ones were bullied or ignored by other houses. She told me it could be hard, but it’s also the most fun house to be in because we get away with things easier.” Dan took a deep breath.Phil noticed this was the most he had heard the other boy say since they met. Phil held back a smile. “You want to tell me more about it after classes? You can come to Gryffindor common room, I’ll let you in.”

“Sure.” Dan grinned and they parted ways for breakfast.

Phil sat at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by people yet thoroughly alone, staring at his plate full of wonderful breakfast food: eggs, sausage, bacon, cinnamon rolls, toast, and the like. He was elated at the great food, but distracted by the goings-on of the Slytherin table. Dan was talking to a pretty girl who looked like she was saying most of the conversation. She had silver hair and a thin face and Phil instantly hated her. He couldn’t quite explain the feeling he was having, but all he could tell was that he did not like the way she was looking at Dan, his friend, and he felt suddenly protective of the other boy. He wanted to go over to Slytherin table and tell the girl, who must be Cat, to back off. The place of “Dan Howell’s best friend” was occupied. He didn’t like how close she was getting to Dan. He put it in the back of his mind and began angrily eating his breakfast as the Heads of Houses began passing out schedules.

He asked the boy sitting next to him who the Heads were. The boy, who introduced himself as Connor, said that the Gryffindor Head of House was called Professor Longbottom, who taught herbology. The Ravenclaw Head was the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Lovegood. Hufflepuff had Professor Abbott, who taught Charms, and Slytherin had Professor Slughorn, who taught Potions. As Connor listed the names, Phil grew more and more excited. All these people had fought in the Battle at Hogwarts! How exciting that must have been! He made a mental note to ask one of them about it later. He looked back down to his plate, and saw that he had been passed his schedule. It read:

 

 **Student Schedule:** Philip Lester  
_Gryffindor_  
**1st:** Charms—Abbott, Hannah  
**2nd:** Transfiguration—Chang, Cho  
**3rd:** Potions—Slughorn, Horus  
**4th:** History of Magic—Binns  
_Lunch_  
**5th:** Herbology—Longbottom, Neville  
**6th:** Defense Against the Dark Arts—Greengrass, Astoria  
**7th:** Astronomy—Sinistra, Aurora  
**8th:** Flying—Hooch, Rolanda

 

  
As Phil looked over his schedule, he nearly screeched in delight. All of these names were so familiar. Longbottom, Chang, Abbott, Hooch, and Sinistra had all fought in the Battle. Professor Binns was a ghost, so he couldn’t, and Professor Greengrass had been a distrusted Slytherin, so was held in the dungeon during the Battle. Thinking of this, Phil began to realize just how unfairly Slytherins had been treated. This thought reminded him of Dan, and he couldn’t wait to compare schedules. He saw Dan looking over his schedule and standing up. Phil was confused for a second until he saw that Dan was coming towards him. Phil started shaking his head no, trying to tell Dan that it was not a good idea for a Slytherin to be at the Gryffindor table, but Dan smiled and shrugged. The Gryffindors scooted away and scowled at him, but Phil glared at them. Phil felt the protectiveness of Dan flood over him again, and he let Dan sit down, staring down anyone who might have said something. Dan blushed.

“So!” Phil said authoritatively. “What’s your schedule like?”

Dan quietly set his schedule on the table, next to Phil’s. They looked at them. They had Potions, Flying, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Transfiguration together. Phil hugged Dan and ignored the surprised glances from the other Gryffindors. Again, he was reminded about the unfairness between the two Houses.

“That’s so many classes! We’ve got practically the same schedule!” Phil said giddily.

“Phil, what’s the Battle of Hogwarts? Everyone’s been mentioning it.”

Phil’s face lit up. He loved history, and explaining it to Dan was going to be fun. As he explained the story of the Boy Who Lived and his group of friends fighting against Voldemort (Phil said it bravely; Voldemort was now confirmed dead) and saving the castle. Dan’s bewildered face kept Phil going, explaining every detail he knew, until the announcement was made that they were to be led to classes. Phil looked at Dan as they milled out of the Great Hall, waiting for feedback on his story.

“Wow…,” was all he seemed able to manage, and Phil smiled.

“You know all the Heads of Houses fought in the Battle, right? Professor Slughorn helped provide shields, Professor Longbottom killed the last horcrux, Nagini the snake, Professor Lovegood fought Death Eaters, and Professor Abbott helped heal the wounded. Headmistress McGonagall pretty much made sure everything went as smoothly as possible and controlled the army of statues.”

“What? Really?” Dan asked, and Phil nodded. “That’s awesome!”

“It’s brilliant! I have Professor Abbott in first hour! Who do you have first?”

“Professor Sinistra!” Dan said as the two of them were separated by the crowd and began heading to their individual classes. Phil saw Dan smile ecstatically, and Phil couldn’t help but grin back. He headed towards the Charms classroom in the East wing and began maneuvering the stairs. He followed the older students in front of him and made it, panting, to class.

The Charms classroom had the air of coziness. The seats were soft and plush, the room was lit by a fire and floating lanterns, and hundreds of books lined the walls. There were old, withered books that mumbled muffled words, there were new ones written by muggles, there were carefully positioned ones so as not to have the pages fall out. The room smelled of parchment, and Phil knew he was going to love this class. Professor Abbott stood at the front of the room, and as Phil sat down, she began talking about the importance of frugal use of magic only in needed situations. She said that magic could be used in wonderful ways, but that it also had, as all the students knew, been used in terrible ways.

Charms went by quickly for Phil. It was a fun class, and he found Professor Abbott’s teaching interesting. He quickly forgot about this, as the thing that took up his mind was that he had Transfiguration next, with Dan. He rushed to the next class, leaping false stairs and avoiding a pesky poltergeist that was tormenting some third years. He made it to the class early, sat down in the back, and waited for Dan. They would sit together no matter what, House prejudices be damned. Phil quickly scolded himself for using a swear word. He was eleven, and his mother had told him not to swear.

At that moment, Dan came bustling into the room, turning heads. His eyes searched, found Phil, and he sat down, panting. Phil leaned over and whispered a question about what happened, but Dan just blushed and scowled, looking away. Phil wanted to ask what was wrong, but Professor Chang started the lesson. Phil enjoyed working with Dan, attempting to transfigure quills into potion bottles. However, Phil could tell that something was bothering Dan. Dan was trying to be positive, but Phil could see that Dan really was upset.

Transfiguration passed, and Phil found the lesson rather easy. Dan and Phil began heading to Potions. It was a long walk down to the dungeons, so Phil decided to figure out what was going on with Dan.

“Are you okay, Dan?” Phil asked tenderly. Dan looked down and didn’t respond. Phil looked into his face, and saw in his childlike face that he was embarrassed. “Dan…”

Dan looked at Phil. Tears brimmed his eyes. “Phil, people are so—so mean to us. Slytherins, I mean. Cat, she was walking with me to Astronomy, and a group of Gryffindors started making fun of her, calling her old because of her hair, and saying she was just a…a stuck-up…pureblood? I didn’t know what that meant, but I went up to the Gryffindor and told him to back off. Cat looked happy about that, but I’m still worried about her. Phil, what’s a pureblood?”

Phil hesitated. Then, he blurted it out: “It’s when someone’s got two witch or wizard parents, they’re supposedly ‘pure’ because they haven’t got any muggle blood in them.” Phil blushed, suddenly embarrassed, realising that in wizard society, Dan was seen as below him. He felt bad.

“So…you’re a pureblood?”

 

“Y-yes.”

“Then what am I? Both my parents are, er, what did you call them?”

“Muggles.”

“Right. Both of my parents are muggles. What does that mean?”

“For a long time there were lots of people who thought that muggles were less than wizards and that wizards were better and all that, so they thought it was…dirty…to be born of a muggle, married to a muggle, or even a muggle at all. They have a bad name for them, but I don’t want to say it. Nicer people call you muggleborns, but Slytherin is actually known for its bias against muggles…”

Dan was quiet for a while. Phil could tell he was trying to process all this. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was. Who could ever be biased against a whole race of people? That’s just silly and outdated. Phil loved everyone, and he thought that there wasn’t enough kindness in the world. He planned to help change that.

Dan didn’t speak all through Potions class, except when Phil asked him questions specifically or Professor Slughorn called on him. Phil wanted to talk to him, but he understood that Dan needed time to process. He was worried about his friends, though.  
After Potions, Phil had History of Magic. He made notes and enjoyed the class, but found himself often distracted, worrying about Dan. Professor Binns was a boring teacher, but Phil enjoyed the subject enough to be able to get through it without falling asleep like his peers. It was difficult, though. Professor Binns’ droning voice coupled with his calming yet eerie tendency to mesmerizingly bob up and down made it easy for Phil’s thoughts to wander. He thought about Dan, how hurt he must feel, and about that girl, Cat. He felt bad for her, about the getting bullied, but he still didn’t like her. She was getting too close to Dan. It was Phil’s job to be Dan’s friend, not hers. She probably was planning on making an elaborate bullying scheme against Dan anyway. He found himself scowling into space, and quickly looked down at his notes and furiously wrote down something about the history of Hogwarts and Salazar Slytherin.

Following History, Phil went to the Great Hall for lunch. He sat sullenly at the Gryffindor table, which felt now like a trap keeping him from Dan. He ate the delicious food reluctantly, watching Dan laugh and joke with Cat and feeling a million miles away. He was staring at Dan, thinking about how hypothetically awful that Cat girl must be, when the third year came up behind him and spilled pumpkin juice on his robes. Phil took off his robes, now in his white shirt and Gryffindor tie, and looked at the wet spot, then at the third year. He was tall, broad, and had an evil grin plastered on his face. Phil swallowed hard.

“Oh, look,” the older boy sneered. “I spilled my juice on the snake-loving newbie. Hey, punk. Why do you love that Slytherin so much? I saw you hugging him before breakfast. Dontcha know that snakes are evil?”

Phil blushed and looked away, trying to focus on his lunch. _Do what mum says. Ignore him and he’ll go away. He’ll get bored. Ignore him,_ he thought to himself, taking a controlled bite of a piece of pork in front of him.

“Hey, newbie! I asked you a question!”

_Ignore him._

  
“Answer me, you filthy mud-lover!”

Phil swallowed, holding back tears. Another bite of his meal. Ignore.

“I said ANSWER ME!” the third-year bellowed, and pulled Phil backwards by the collar. Phil fell off the bench, toppling his plate onto his lap. He wiped off as much as he could, but his slacks would definitely be stained, along with his house robes. The brutish third year leaned in close to Phil’s face. “Now listen to me, you little shit. I asked you a question. You better answer it. Why do you love the little snake so much? Should you even be in Gryffindor? Gryffindors are supposed to go against the evil people, you know.”

Phil averted his eyes from the bully and stuttered, “I-I-he-he’s not evil. He’s m-my friend. He’s nice.”

“Awww, looks like little newbie here hasn’t learned the rules. Slytherins are bad. They were Death Eaters when You-Know-Who was around. Their parents were Death Eaters. They are, too.”

“Dan isn’t a Death Eater. He’s kind. Slytherins aren’t all bad. The traits of a Slytherin are cunning, ambitious, and resourceful. Nowhere in there does it say ‘evil’.”  
The older boy raised his fist as if to hit Phil, and Phil cowered, holding up his arms and curling into a ball so as not to get hit in the face. When the hit didn’t come, he slowly lowered his arms. The boy was frozen, mid punch, his fist an inch from Phil's face. Phil looked around to see who could have done this.

Dan stood over the third year, wand in hand, aimed at the older boy. Dan had a dark, murderous expression on his face that concerned Phil, though did not stem the flow of gratitude he felt towards his friend. Dan’s expression softened and he helped Phil up. He dusted Phil off and picked up his robes. Phil almost smiled until he saw Professors Longbottom and Slughorn striding towards them. Phil tapped Dan’s shoulder urgently, and he turned. Both of the boys went pale. Phil squeezed Dan’s shoulder, then dropped his hand. They glanced at each other meaningfully and the professors reached them, analysing the scene. Professor Longbottom looked from the third year to Dan, the first year Slytherin with his wand out. Professor Longbottom glared at Dan. Professor Slughorn looked pitifully to Dan and his supposed partner-in-crime. The two professors glanced at each other, had a silent conversation, and turned back towards the odd pair.

“You two will meet me in my office immediately. Follow. Do not speak at all on the way, and you, Slytherin–what’s your name?”

“D-Dan, sir.”

“Dan, you will not speak unless you specifically are asked a question. I will hear the story from Mr. Lester. Do you understand, both of you?”

“Yes,” said Phil, his voice quivering. He had never been in such trouble.

“Yessir,” said Dan, his voice monotone. He was used to this sort of treatment by teachers.  
Professor Longbottom, Professor Slughorn, Dan, and Phil made their way to Professor Longbottom’s office. The boys looked at each other, both silently giving reassurance to the other. They could do this if they were together.  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil settle in to their new life at Hogwarts.

Dan and Phil sat at Professor Longbottom’s desk, anxiously waiting for one of the adults opposite them to start talking, but also dreading what they might say. Phil felt an urge to hug Dan and tell him it was okay, but he held back in front of the teachers. He settled with an encouraging glance.

“Mr. Howell,” Professor Slughorn began. “A few minutes ago, you put the spell ‘Petrificus Totalus’ onto a third year Gryffindor with the name of David Brent. You are a first year, on your first day, and a muggleborn at that. I have two questions for you. How did you know that spell and why did you place it on Mr. Brent?”

Dan swallowed, and Phil began to wonder how exactly Dan did know that spell. He hadn’t been around magic before Diagon Alley.

“Sir, I used the spell-um, petrific totalum, because that person–Brent–was bullying Phil here and I couldn’t just let him do it, I had to stand up for him–”

“Is this true, Mr. Lester? Was Brent being outwardly cruel to you?” Longbottom interjected.

“Y-yes, sir.” Phil’s hands were shaking. Dan saw this and his hand almost moved to Phil’s but he stopped.

“What was Mr. Brent doing?”

“Er, he was, um, making fun of me. For being friends with Dan, because he’s a Slytherin. I was trying to ignore him and eat my lunch but he pulled me off the bench and to the floor, then he was about to-to hit me and then Dan jinxed him. Please don’t punish him, he was trying to help me, sir.”

Professor Longbottom turned to Dan, his expression hard as ever. He began to say something, but Professor Slughorn cut him off. “Mr. Howell, is it true that you were defending Mr. Lester?”

“Y-yes, sir. Brent was being downright cruel to him, and I saw it from the Slytherin table. I don’t know what came over me, I just, I just had to do something, none of the other students were doing anything. I don’t know what the name was of the spell I put on him, it just came to me, and I pulled out my wand and, I don’t know. I forced all my anger at him into my wand, and the fact that I just wanted him to stop hurting Phil. I couldn’t help myself, I just–” Dan stopped talking, his face hardened, and Phil thought he saw him force tears back, but it must have been a trick of the light, because Dan was composed again. Phil wanted to hug him.

Professor Longbottom spoke up. “Mr. Howell, while your reasons for jinxing Mr. Brent were just, it does not change the fact that there are rules against using magic aggressively on fellow students. What Mr. Brent did was wrong, and he will be punished accordingly, but you used magic against a peer. Your punishment will be detention after classes every day for the next week. You will meet in Mr. Slughorn’s office immediately after school starting today, and you will stay there until he allows you to leave. Do you understand?”

Dan looked down. “Yes, sir.”

Professor Longbottom nodded. “Now, Mr. Lester, you will have detention for two days in my office for provoking Mr. Brent into attacking you. Do you understand this?”

Anger flared up in Phil. He wanted to scream at Professor Longbottom that he hadn’t provoked Brent, he had tried his best to avoid the conflict. He wanted to be able to explain the whole situation to Longbottom, making him understand what was happening, but he just nodded quietly. It was Dan who spoke up.

“Sir, if I may–”

“You may not.”

“Whether or not I may, sir, punishing Phil is unfair. He didn’t ‘provoke’ Brent. Brent approached him out of the blue and bullied him for being friends with me, a Slytherin.” Dan said the word mockingly. “When I heard I was going to a wizard school, I was fucking elated,” Phil gasped a little at the swear, and the teachers scowled. “but then I realised that this school is infected with stupid, silly biases like whether or not your parents are muggles and what house you’re in, and I've only been here a _day._  As a ‘muggleborn’ and a Slytherin on my first day, I am already experiencing these biases, and Phil is being punished because of the biases about me. He was punished enough just by the fact that Brent bullied him, but you will not say he provoked him. That is ridiculous, and I will not stand for it.”

  
“Mr. Howell, sit down.” Professor Longbottom said coolly. “You just defied a teacher and swore in one go. If you are so passionate about protecting Mr. Lester, why don’t you take his detention days as well?”

“Okay.”

Phil looked up at Dan, bewildered. Professor Slughorn smirked. Professor Longbottom blinked, then composed himself. “Alright, then. You will have detention for nine days. Mr. Lester will have none. Is this what you want?”

Dan smiled, like he was sharing a secret joke with himself. “Yes.”

“The two of you are excused. You will go back to your separate dormitories until this period ends and you will then head to, let’s see–” he shuffled some notes. “Defense Against the Dark Arts. Understand?”

“Yessir,” the two said at the same time. They stood up and walked out of the room. As soon as they were a good distance away, at the place where they would part ways to go to their dorms, Phil tackled Dan with a hug. Dan grinned and hugged him back. They stood there for a while, just holding each other silently, and Phil thought about how much he was grateful to have met the enigma that was Dan Howell. They parted ways, and Phil walked silently up to the Gryffindor commons, already waiting for the next time he would get to see Dan. He smiled to himself, relishing in the empty corridors and lonely, ever-moving staircases. When he got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she began to barrage him with questions.

“Why’re you here in the middle of the day, lad?”

“Got into trouble at lunch.” to avoid further questions, he tried the password. “Wrackspurt.”

“Not yet. Why were you smilin’ like that when you walked up, then?”

“I have a wonderful friend. Wrackspurt.”

“Oooh, who’s your friend? I haven’t seen you with anyone in the common room. Ohh, is it a girl?”

Phil bit back laughter. Like a girl would like him. He’d never even considered it. “No, his name is Dan. Now open the door. Wrackspurt.”

“Fine, fine! Here you go!” her portrait swung open, and Phil collapsed onto the nearest sofa, exhausted. After moping about in the common room, he had to leave to finish the day’s classes. They passed uneventfully, and after his exhausting flying class, he went into his dormitory and collapsed onto his bed. He was looking up at the intricate carvings on his four-poster when he heard someone enter. He looked at his dormitory partner. The boy was pale and had scruffy brown hair that framed his face like a mane. Phil stood up and shook the boy’s hand.

“Hello, I’m Phil Lester. I guess we’re in the same dormitory?”

“I guess so. I’m Chris. Chris Kendall. Nice to meet you,” he said, and the realisation seemed to dawn on his face. “You’re the boy who got beat up at lunch!”

“I didn’t get–”

“It was awesome! That Slytherin came up and just shot that spell at that arse who was beating you up! Did you know him?”

“No, if I’d known him, he wouldn’t be beating me up, right?”

“Not him, the Slytherin! D’you know the Slytherin?”

Phil thought about how to answer. People hadn’t really reacted well to the fact that Phil was friends with a Slytherin, so he thought about saying no. But Chris seemed like a nice person, so he decided against denying their friendship. “Yes, we met in Diagon Alley. He’s my friend.”

“Oh, that’s awesome! You should introduce us sometime!” And with that, Chris started preparing for bed. Phil followed suit, and began to think that this school was much different than he imagined, but not all bad.

Weeks passed, and the two boys settled into their new home. Classes were hard at times, but they were fun. The bullying continued, but neither of the boys went to a teacher about it. After they almost gave Phil detention just for ‘provoking’ Brent, they didn’t trust the teachers to be fair. Phil introduced Chris to Dan, and the two were instant friends. In the afternoons, after classes, Dan and Phil would meet up outside by the lake, in a hidden spot overgrown with shrubbery that made them invisible to those inside the castle. It became their constant meeting place when they had had a hard day or they just wanted to see each other. Phil knew that he had found his best friend.

One day, a few weeks into the year, Phil knew Dan had had a rough day. In herbology with Professor Longbottom, Dan had accidentally toppled a pot of Bouncing Bulbs when talking with Cat, as Phil was intentionally placed across the room from Dan. Phil had been silently wishing that Cat would spill Bouncing Bulb sap on her robes when this happened. Professor Longbottom had deducted five points from Slytherin house, and Cat had glared at Dan. Phil wanted to strangle her, but Dan just laughed it off. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dan was jinxed by his sparring mate, a wicked girl from Ravenclaw who seemed to share the world’s hate for Slytherins. Due to the jinx, Dan had begun dancing uncontrollably, and he got a disapproving look from Professor Greengrass for not being able to deflect the jinx. In Flying, Dan had fallen off his broom, and the whole class laughed.

Phil worried about Dan as he headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Hogwarts had been hard on him. Phil was going through the same thing, in a way, but it was definitely worse for Dan, who was both a Slytherin and a muggleborn. As Phil thought about this, he subconsciously changed direction and started heading in a different direction from the Gryffindor commons. He didn’t really know where he was going, he just let his feet take him where he needed to go. Down so many flights of stairs, into the parts of the school he had only been in for potions class. The air became chilly, and he found himself in front of a stone wall, not unlike the rest of the walls in the corridor he had been wandering through. He knocked on the wall, and it felt hollow on the other side. He was about to try a password when a ghost popped its head out of the wall.

“What is it you want, boy?" said the Bloody Baron.

“I-” Phil thought. Why was he here? “I came to see Dan.”

“Dan, the mudblood in here sulking about?”

Anger flared up in Phil, but he just said, “That’s the one.”

“I’ll tell him you’re here. Don’t you go learning our password, Gryffindor, or I’ll have to convince Peeves to torment you,” the Baron said, then disappeared into the wall.

A few moments passed before a portion of the stone wall disappeared and Dan emerged from it. Phil wanted to hug him, but decided not to with the Baron undoubtedly watching them. Dan’s expression of gratitude for Phil coming suddenly changed to anxiety.

“Phil, why’d you come?”

“It’s just, you seem like you’ve had a bad day, and I figured you needed someone to talk to. Also, every time I enter the common room, the Fat Lady interrogates me about whether or not I’ve got a girlfriend, so coming here seemed better than Gryffindor commons.”

Dan smiled, then a strange expression flickered across his face. “Have you got a girlfriend?”

Phil rolled his eyes. Why did everyone keep assuming he even wanted a girlfriend? He had Dan, and that was all that mattered. “No, I haven’t got a girlfriend. I don’t even want one.”

Dan seemed to perk up after that. Phil didn’t know why, but this made him happier. “What about you? You seem to be spending a lot of time with Cat.”

Dan blushed. “No, she’s only my friend. I’m like you; I don’t even want a girlfriend right now.”

Phil smiled and the pair began making their way to their little hidden spot by the lake. Phil watched Dan as they walked, and he felt a strange feeling towards his friend. He wanted to be with him all the time. Platonically, he reminded himself.  
As they arrived at their special spot and Phil retrieved some pumpkin juice he had stashed in the bushes; Dan vented about all the bad things that had happened. Phil listened and consoled him. This had become a common occurrence. Many days were difficult for the two of them, with Phil being constantly surrounded by the bullies in his house and Dan being targeted for things he couldn’t change. They had known each other for no more than two and a half months, but they had both seen the other cry, and they had both consoled their crying friend. Life was hard, but they had each other, and that was all they needed to move on. To enjoy their life in the mysterious, wonderful, terrible place that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil spend an afternoon by the lake at Hogwarts.

Phil walked to breakfast on an autumn morning in October with a skip in his step. It had been a while since any particularly horrible things had happened to himself or Dan, and he was just in a good mood. He had said good morning to Chris rather cheerfully, warranting a raised eyebrow. Phil sat next to Chris at the Gryffindor table after ecstatically waving to Dan from across the Great Hall. Phil, during breakfast, told Chris about the things he was excited about that day. He had a fun project in History, an interesting class in Transfiguration, and, of course, he was meeting Dan after school in their little place by the lake. Phil’s energy seemed to be rather contagious, as Chris told Phil about a potion he had invented which, as of yet, didn’t do anything but would eventually reverse any jinx. Chris also told Phil of a nice Ravenclaw he had met that he wanted to introduce to him and Dan. Phil heartily agreed, always ready for a new friend.

In Transfiguration, Phil’s uncanny skills were getting him house points. Transfiguration came easily to Phil, and he enjoyed it. He could transfigure a bird into a wine glass or a desk into a very confused cat (that was ONE TIME, and Phil did not mean for that to happen, it just did). Phil helped Dan along when he struggled, and Dan did the same with Phil regarding Charms. From what Phil saw, the day went beautifully. After classes, Phil met Dan in their hiding spot to talk about the day. They sat next to each other, alone but together, invisible to all but themselves, looking out across the lake. Phil told Dan about interesting history facts and the Battle of Hogwarts, which was Phil’s favourite topic. Dan told Phil about how much he loves Charms. They were happy, for once. They were always happy, in a way, when they were here, away from their fears, their worries. Just watching the water, watching the leaves of the trees in the forbidden forest. Watching each other.

Today, however, Dan seemed different. As if he was holding back something. Phil asked him what was wrong.

“Phil, do you ever...do you ever have something happen, but you don’t want to believe it, so you try not to think about it, but you do anyway?”

A cold feeling spread through Phil’s stomach. “What happened?”

“Today, in Astronomy, we were reading the stars for our future, and Professor Sinistra helped me read mine, and she said something that really bothered me.”

“Dan, you know all that astrology stuff is overrated.”

“I thought that, too, but...what she said, it was too accurate to be fake, Phil. She talked about something I’ve only told to you before. She talked about my parents, and how they don’t like that I’m a wizard.”

“What? What did she say?”

“She said that soon, something bad was going to happen and they would be even more distanced. She said that they already resented me for something, and that soon ‘something else they cannot change about me will break their bonds of love’. What else about me wouldn’t they like? I mean, I know they already don’t like me, but I don’t want them to hate me! What-what if they disown me? I love them, what if they don’t love me?” For the first time that Phil could remember, Dan broke down. He had seen him shed tears before, or shake from a panic attack, but this was full-on, sobbing, gasping for air, shaking and crying. Phil comforted him, hugging him, telling him that it was going to be okay. For some reason, this silly astrological prediction had broken Dan. Not the constant bullying, not the snide comments from teachers, not his schoolwide infamy. No, none of these things bothered Dan this much. Phil began to wonder just what the 11 year-old had been through to have been this resilient. Phil had broken down like this plenty of times at the beginning of the year when he hadn’t gotten used to the bullies yet. But now Phil was in Dan’s place, telling him that it was going to be okay when neither one of them believed it.  
When Dan quieted and stopped shaking, he looked down, shuffled away from Phil, and put his arms around his knees. “Sorry,” he muttered, looking away.

Phil cocked his head to the side, watching Dan. He seemed embarrassed. “Sorry for what?”

“For-for making you have to treat me like a baby just then. For crying. I’m sorry I was crying, I know I shouldn’t.”

“What makes you think you shouldn’t cry?” Phil asked. He had never met someone who thought this, and he was genuinely confused.

“I’m a boy. Boys shouldn’t cry, crying is for girls and babies.”

“What? No, Dan, crying is for everyone. Why do you think you do it? If you feel sad, or unhappy, and you just need to let it out, that’s what it’s for. My mum says that crying is healthy, and I believe her, ‘cause I know I always feel better after I cry. Who told you you can’t cry?”

“M-my dad. He doesn’t like it when...when I do girly things.”

“What sort of things are girly?”

“Well, I like fashion a lot and dressing up nice, but he says that fashion is for girls.”

“But-” Phil was confused. He thought for a second, then decided on an answer. “If fashion is only for girls, then why would you like it in the first place?”

Dan seemed stumped, so he sat there quietly. After a long while, he spoke again. “You, I don’t know how to put it...you are the first person I’ve met who’s okay with all of me.” then, so quietly Phil could barely hear it, he said, “Thank you, Phil.”

“No,” Phil smiled, thinking of how grateful he was to have met Dan. “You’re my friend, Dan. It’s my job to like you. Thank you for teaching me so much about the world. You’re a wonderful person, Dan.”

“That’s hard to believe sometimes, with everyone hating me and all that.”

"They only hate you because they don't understand you. If they knew you, they'd love you," Phil shuffled over to Dan and hugged him. He tried to pull away at first, but then he relaxed into the hug and started crying.

*****

Dan hugged Phil, and though of how much he had gone through to get to this point. His letter, his parents thinking it was a prank, then, eventually, threatening to disown him if he went to Hogwarts. He often, when lying awake in bed thinking of all the horrible people at Hogwarts, wondered if it was worth it. He would wake up, not wanting to get out of bed, feeling like his whole body was lead, and he would wonder if potentially ruining his and his parents’ relationship was worth going to Hogwarts. Then, he would see Phil in second period, and he would know his answer. Yes, it was worth it. For Phil, it was worth it. For Phil, he would stay. For Phil, he would be the best person he could.  
One day, when he was thinking over the events of a day, fondly remembering talking with Phil, he realised that he had some feelings for his friend that he hadn’t thought about before. He knew his parents weren’t okay with this sort of thing, so he pushed the thought out of his head and swore he would never think about it again.

But on this night, when Phil held him, consoling him, he did think about it. He thought about all the lovely things Phil had done for him and he thought about all the times that Phil had helped him. He thought of how wonderful a person Phil was, and he thought of how wonderful it would be to be more than friends. This caused Dan’s “Thank you.” When Phil crawled over to him and hugged him, Dan felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time: Love. When he was with his muggle friends, he would feel judged for his music tastes or his fashion choices or his eccentricities. With his parents, he felt pressured to be manly, do boyish things, and wear boyish clothes. His father once yelled at him for wanting a pink shirt. But with Phil, Dan felt truly, irrevocably loved for all he was. Phil was the most important person in the world to him.

Dan began thinking of his parents, and the punishment he would get if they knew what he was doing. He pushed all the dangerous thoughts out of his head and pulled away from Phil, drying his eyes.

*****

Phil was surprised when Dan pulled away. He pulled away suddenly, like he was offended, but something in Dan’s face suggested fear. Phil asked what was wrong, but Dan said he was fine. Phil wished he knew what he had done to upset Dan, but Dan didn’t say. Dan looked off across the lake and Phil thought Dan looked sad about something. It’s not like he didn’t have a lot to be sad about, but Phil thought that he was helping. Apparently not. He would keep on trying.  
Phil stood up and dusted off his robes. He held out his hand to Dan to help him up. “Come on, let’s walk back to the castle. It’s almost curfew, and we don’t want another run-in with Professor Longbottom.”

Dan took his hand but quickly let go after he was standing. The pair leisurely walked back to the castle and to their separate dormitories. Again, Phil caught himself thinking about how nice it would be to be something more than friends with Dan...no, he couldn’t. He was eleven! His mother told him not to date until he was at least thirteen. If he didn’t listen to her, who would he listen to? Phil heard the curfew bell ring throughout the castle and he hurried back to the common room and through the portrait hole. When he entered his dormitory, he saw Chris talking to a tall, thin boy with curly brown hair. When they heard Phil enter, they both turned to look at him, and Phil saw that he had blue eyes. Feeling a little emotionally exhausted, Phil made to get in bed, but Chris stopped him.

“Hey, Phil! D’you remember that nice Ravenclaw I was telling you about? Here he is, do you wanna meet him?”

“S-sure,” Phil said, plastering a smile on his face. He turned to the boy. “Uh, I guess you already know my name, but I’m Phil. Lester.”

“Hello, I’m PJ. I came here to hang out with Chris for a little while, but I guess it’s past curfew,” PJ gave a small laugh. “Do you mind if I stay the night in your common room? Normally there are four people in common rooms, but I guess you only have two. Could I take an empty bed?”

“Absolutely,” Chris said.

“S-sure,” Phil repeated.

The Ravenclaw boy, PJ, took off his robes and tie but slept in his slacks and shirt. Phil felt sorry for him, but he seemed happy where he was. Phil put on his pyjamas that he had brought from home, which were a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. Phil crawled into his warm bed and fell asleep, staring at the Ravenclaw. PJ being here meant that students could visit the common rooms and even dormitories of people from other houses. A feeling of elation that Phil hadn’t felt in a while welled up inside of him and he buried his face in his pillow, laughing. Chris, who had the bed next to Phil’s, leaned over.

“You okay, mate?” he whispered. “Are you crying?”

Phil lifted his head off the pillow and grinned at Chris. “Nope,” he said. “I’m so, so happy.”

Chris rolled his eyes and curled up in his bed, mumbling about how it was probably something to do with Dan, wasn’t it, that made Phil so happy. Phil smiled wider and turned over in his bed. Of course it was something to do with Dan. Now they could see each other in the school. And if they started dating--Phil put his hand over his mouth in surprise at what he had just thought. He mentally scolded himself. He was too young to be thinking such things! Maybe when he was older…

Phil fell asleep thinking about all the good things his future with Dan would hold. He realised that every future he fantasised about had Dan in it, and he was okay with that. He wanted Dan to be in his life forever, even if they were just friends. He wanted it to be best friends, though. He knew that Dan was certainly his best friend, but was Phil Dan’s? Phil worried about this for a while, but soon exhaustion overtook him and he was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Weeks passed, and the pair only grew closer. When Dan and Phil weren’t hanging out alone, they were with Chris and PJ. The four were great friends and, by the end of the semester, were the prime suspects for many pranks on teachers who had been rude to them, but nothing was proven. The boys found the painting of a pear covering the corridor to the kitchens, and sneaking food out of the kitchens became one of their pastimes. At first, Phil protested, saying it was unethical to steal food and that they were going to get in trouble. He would wait in the Gryffindor common room while the other three boys put food in a bag that Dan had enchanted to have endless storage. Dan was unusually good at charms, so he was the person who did the enchantments. Phil was good at Transfiguration, Chris was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and PJ excelled at potions. The quartet used their skills cunningly, with PJ and Dan making plans when they were doing something big, like pranking a teacher (shhh!) or sneaking out of the school after curfew to talk out of the common rooms.

It was the last day of school before winter break, and the boys were sitting against a wall on the seventh floor of the castle, next to a detailed tapestry depicting a man attempting to teach trolls how to do ballet. This tapestry was the source of much laughter for the group, and they often sat against the wall perpendicular to that of the tapestry. The four boys were talking about holiday plans with their families.  
“I’m going to Paris with my family,” said PJ. “We’re going to see the Eiffel Tower!”

Phil and Dan were impressed by this, but Chris was confused.

“Why’d you want to see a big metal tower?”

“It’s gorgeous and it’s got such a rich history!” Phil responded.

“What does it do?”

“Well--” Phil didn’t have an answer. “What are you doing over break, Dan?”

“I’m staying at Hogwarts,” he mumbled. Phil knew that Dan was having trouble with his family, but he couldn’t understand missing the holidays over that. He made a mental note to ask Dan what was going on. As much time as the four boys spent together, Dan had never opened up to Chris or PJ as much as he had with Phil. When they were together, it was easy to forget all the bad things that they were going through and to just focus on whatever they were doing at the time. It was easier to laugh.

Chris stated what he was doing. “I’m going home to see my family, we normally have a really relaxed break. What about you, Phil?”

“Oh, I’m going to my mum’s house for the holidays. Nothing big.”

The boys began making a plan about what they would do when they got back from the break, and how they would communicate while they were apart. They talked about possible owls they could use, a secret code, or a cat with a note tied around its neck. Phil looked at Dan for an idea, and Phil saw that Dan was laughing behind his eyes.

“What is it, Dan?”

“Why don’t you just use a phone?” Dan giggled. “Honestly, you wizards are so funny sometimes. Owls, cats, secret codes. You could just be using this.”

He pulled out his smartphone and began demonstrating how it worked. The three wizards were fascinated with the muggle technology, and Phil remembered Dan trying to explain this device on the Hogwarts express, which felt like so long ago. The boys agreed that they would try to get one of the devices over the break, and Dan wrote down his “phone number”, with instructions on how to use it, for each of the purebloods. Giddy with excitement of what was to come, the group went back to their dormitories for the night. PJ went to the Ravenclaw common room, Chris went to the Gryffindor common room. Dan and Phil split off and went to their place by the lake. Phil had questions for Dan, and Dan for Phil. They made their way to their hidden, secluded place that not even PJ or Chris knew about.

They sat down, close to each other, with their feet out in front of them and their hands supporting the rest of the weight of their body. Dan sat down after Phil, and accidentally laid his hand on top of Phil’s. He jerked his hand away, and Phil stared at Dan for a second before blushing and looking away. He refocused himself, and asked Dan his question.

“Dan, are you sure you won’t be lonely here all alone?”

“I’ll be fine, Phil, don’t worry.”

Phil smiled, loving how Dan said Phiw instead of enunciating the “L.”

“Dan…,” Phil begun. “Do you want to come over to my house for the break?” At Dan’s surprised expression, Phil quickly rambled on. “I mean, you know, I’ve only got the one older brother, so it wouldn’t be any trouble to have you over, I asked my mum already in case you said yes, but I thought maybe, since you’ve got all that stressful stuff with your parents, you could, maybe, stay at my house for the holidays?”

*****

Dan stared at the lake, dumbfounded. Phil’s never-ending kindness towards him never failed to surprise him. Maybe that said more about him than it did Phil. After thinking over Phil’s offer for what felt like a long time, Dan looked at him and tried to keep his tears away. He knew Phil wouldn’t mind if he cried, but that didn’t change how Dan felt about it.

Unable to speak without his voice breaking, Dan whispered. “You-you’d really be okay with me staying at your house? And your mum wouldn’t care? At all? I won’t be causing trouble?”

“No, of course not!” Phil said cheerily, and put his arm around Dan, who stiffened. “My mum loves you, she met you in Diagon Alley, and she thought you were wonderful! We’d love to have you, Dan.”

Dan thought about the consequences if he chose to go. If he chose to go and his parents found out, there’d be hell to pay. When he told them he’d be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, he had lied, saying that it was required to stay. If they knew he was going to Phil’s house, they’d think he had picked seeing Phil’s family over his own. Which was technically true, but he didn’t want his parents to think that. If he went and they didn’t find out, he’d have to live with the fact that he went behind their backs. If he didn’t go, then he’d have to live in the castle alone with his tormentors. He made a decision.

“I’ll go,” he said, and Phil grinned ecstatically. “but, you need to listen. If my parents find out, I will be in a lot of trouble, so please, please, please make sure no one tells my parents, okay?”

Phil nodded and tackled the other boy with a hug. Dan tensed, trying not to let his feelings come up again. “We are going to have so much fun, Dan! You’ll get to learn what a wizard house is like, they’re so cool compared to muggle ones! Our garden has Quidditch pitches in it for when my brother was on the Hufflepuff team.We have some brooms, too, so we can play! I can’t wait until you see it! Glad it’s tomorrow, or I might explode!”

This excited Dan, and he was happy that this holiday wasn’t going to be as stressful as his previous ones. The two boys returned to their dormitories, and Dan fell asleep, happy for the first time in a long time.

*****

The next day, Dan, Phil, Chris, and PJ boarded the Hogwarts Express, ready for winter break to begin. They sat in a compartment together, Dan and Phil on one side and Chris and PJ on the other. They chattered excitedly about their plans for the holiday. PJ was excited to go to Paris, Chris had found out that his mother was taking him to London, and Dan and Phil were practically having a two-week long sleepover. They ate treats out of the trolley, and Dan even enchanted one of the pastries on the bottom shelf to walk towards him when he couldn’t pay for it. Phil scolded him, saying he was stealing, but Dan shrugged and said that he couldn’t have paid for it if he had wanted to. Phil sighed and stole a bite of the pastry. Dan smiled.

“So,” PJ said, and Phil noticed a hint of amusement behind his eyes while looking at the two boys across from him. “What will you two do at Phil’s house?”

Phil thought for a moment of all the wonderful possibilities. “Well, Dan’s never seen a wizard house before, so it’ll be fun for him just being there. Other than that, I have a few surprises.” Phil tried to wink but just ended up scrunching his face weirdly. He laughed with his friends, and he thought of how much he would miss them over the break. There were things he wouldn’t miss about Hogwarts, but Chris and PJ weren’t on that list.

Phil noticed that Dan was smiling for most of the ride back to King’s Cross, and that alone made Phil’s day. He knew Dan was struggling with something that he didn’t fully understand yet, and that it made him sad a lot, so when Phil saw Dan smile it always made him happier too.

The train pulled into the station, and Dan, Phil, Chris, and PJ made their way into the muggle world to meet their families. Dan stayed unusually close to Phil, rapidly snapping his head around, as if he was looking for someone. He had an anxious expression on his face, and Phil wondered who could be causing Dan this much stress. Surely not his parents, right?

“Hey, Dan, you okay?” Phil said as softly as he could over the din of the station.

Dan swallowed, distracted. “Yeah...let’s talk later, okay? Here is too...there’s too many people.”

“Okay, Dan, I understand.” Phil resumed his search for his mother. He found her with his older brother Martyn, who was currently a year 4 at Hogwarts. Phil, without thinking, grabbed Dan’s hand to pull him towards Mrs. Lester and Martyn. Phil quickly let go when Dan tensed, and apologised profusely. Dan said it was okay, but Phil worried why Dan always got so tense when he hugged him. At the beginning of the year, they hugged all the time, it was normal. Now, Dan seemed uncomfortable or offended when Phil tried to hug him. Phil began to wonder if it was because Dan had a crush--Now’s not the time, Phil reminded himself, pushing the thought out of his mind for the millionth time. You can’t think about that, he thought to himself. Not now, when he’s staying at your house for two weeks. Phil cringed inwardly, realising he had subconsciously grabbed Dan’s hand again. He dropped it and made his way towards his mother, thinking, this is going to be harder than I thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil shows Dan around his house and Dan tells Phil about Muggle life.

When Dan crossed the threshold into Phil’s home, it was like he could feel the magic in the air, charged through everything in the house. He had never felt anything like it, and he could tell that almost every inanimate object had a charm of some sort on it, making it perform whatever job it was made to do without anyone helping it. He saw a broom cleaning out the fireplace, a brush cleaning the dishes in the sink, a mower mowing the grass outside the house, and a small, leathery creature which seemed actually alive doing the laundry. Dan stopped five feet in the doorway, staring around in awe.

The room he had entered seemed to be a den of some kind, with couches around a coffee table and a fireplace that sat directly in the centre of the room so that one could walk around it completely. There was a large, old rug lying on the floor with paisley patterns on it and the couches were navy blue canvas. The room gave off a feeling of cosiness, with the hardwood floors and warm light from the fire. Across the room was an open doorway leading into the kitchen, which had white-and-black checkered linoleum flooring and what looked like granite countertops. The refrigerator was white plastic, and it had children’s drawings stuck all over it, most of which were done in crayon. On the right side of the room was a staircase that Dan could’ve sworn came down from the ceiling as they walked in. Behind the staircase was a closed wooden door with runes decorating it. Dan could feel the magic emanating from that room, and it made him feel a little uneasy. Dan focused all his willpower on the door, trying to detect the charms on it. He could usually do this, which got him good grades in Charms class. However, this door had so many charms and enchantments on it that it drowned out everything else. He continued trying to decipher what felt like a ward spell doubled on an alarm spell. Almost there, he could perhaps see the charms behind the wards, almost, almost...

 

*****

Phil watched Dan curiously, waiting for a reaction to his house. Dan seemed frozen in place, the only thing moving on him being his head and eyes. Phil saw Dan survey the living room, the kitchen, the house elf, and the staircase up to his own room. Then, he saw Dan’s eyes linger on the old hazelwood door that led to Ms. Lester’s study. Phil didn't know how Dan had done it, but he was sure the other boy had sensed the peculiarities of that office. Phil had never been allowed in his mother’s study, and over the years he had grown quite curious of it. Dan seemed to feel the same way, but Phil had no way of knowing how true this was, since it all happened in an instant.

“Hey, Dan,” Phil began, bringing Dan back down to Earth. He had been staring intently at the door, as if trying to see through it. Dan turned to him, and Phil thought he saw a flicker of annoyance in his eyes, but it was quickly gone. “Do you want to see my room?”

Dan glanced at the door, then smiled. “Of course. Lead the way?”

Phil grinned broadly and led Dan upstairs, and the boys put their bags down. Phil’s room was small, with a full-size bed taking up about half of it. The slanted attic walls were covered in posters of famous wizard singers and celebrities. Phil had a large, moving poster of a man with tousled dark hair, green eyes, and a jagged scar on his forehead. In the poster, there were five broken objects floating ominously around the man. A snapped locket, a halved tiara, a dented goblet, a half-melted sword, and a snake that had been cut in half. Phil loved this poster. The man was his idol, and Phil hoped to be just like him someday, although hopefully in the future Aurors would not be a necessary career. Phil watched Dan look around, and Dan beamed.

“I love your room, Phil!” Dan said ecstatically. Phil was pleased. Dan wandered around the small attic room for a while, admiring posters and action figures. Phil had action figures of all the most famous people from the Battle of Hogwarts. Dan was admiring the one of the girl with the bushy dark brown hair holding _Hogwarts, A History_ when Ms. Lester called up to them.

“Boys, lunch is ready, if you’re hungry!”

Dan’s stomach growled and Phil looked wistfully to the stairs. They giggled to each other and made their way down stairs. The meal was delicious, and dessert followed of cakes and sweet fruit. Phil realised how much he had been missing by not being able to eat with Dan before. Phil wanted nothing less than to spend every day with him, and he realised that would be the case for as long as winter break progressed. They had two short weeks to do everything that Hogwarts wouldn’t allow.

“Dan, I promise you I will show you everything about normal wizard life, okay? You’ve missed so much.”

“And I,” Dan smiled, “will tell you all about Muggle life and how we survive without magic.”

Phil beamed. Dan did too, and Phil noticed happily that just today, Phil had seen Dan smile more than ever. He hoped Dan felt at home here, if nowhere else.

After eating, Phil made Dan close his eyes and opened a broom cupboard. He withdrew two dusty old Nimbus 2000’s. They had been his parents’, but were passed down to him after his father died. They were old and out of style, but they did their job. Phil brought over the brooms and told Dan to open his eyes. Dan complied and his mouth dropped open. Phil handed one of the brooms to him, and Dan held it delicately.

“Is this...is this a flying broom?” Dan said incredulously.

“Of course! Do you want to fly it?”

Dan seemed to be trying not to dance around. “Yes! I want to! Fly!”

Phil giggled and led Dan to their garden.

Phil showed Dan how to mount the broom correctly and hold it so that he wouldn’t fall. Dan was wobbly and unsure of himself. Phil, who had been doing this for as long as he could remember, was perfect. However, Phil was patient with the other boy and calmly taught him how to fly. When Dan eventually got the hang of it, he was unstoppable. The boys flew for hours, the wind in their hair and a beautiful view of the forests surrounding Phil’s home. They played a crude version of Quidditch (which was more like Muggle soccer) and passed a ball to either side of the garden, trying to get it passed the other boy. When the sun began to set they barely noticed until Ms. Lester called them down for dinner. Dan never wanted to get off his broom, but he had to admit he was hungry after flying all day.

During dinner, Dan told Phil about the wonders of aeroplanes.

“So you just...get inside it and it flies?” Phil asked, and Dan noticed that Ms. Lester seemed just as curious.

“Well, sort of. There’s a pilot, someone flying the plane, at the front and then a bunch of people get in and sit down. These mechanical engines are turned on by the pilot, and then it picks up speed on a runway--”

“What’s a runway?” Ms. Lester asked.

“Like a really long road for planes, they drive on it and pick up speed until air gets under the wings and picks up the whole plane.”

“And,” Phil said, “Muggles did this without magic?”

“Yes, I should take you on one sometime. They can fly over whole oceans at a time. It only takes a few hours to go to America.”

“Wow! That’s amazing! Mum, can I go on an aeroplane?”

“I don’t know, Phil, it seems kind of dangerous, what if it falls out of the sky?” Ms. Lester said thoughtfully.

“That hasn’t happened in a long time. The planes were improved so that they would stay up until the pilot landed them, so they’re perfectly safe, don’t worry. The only problem is that it’s very expensive, and you have to pay in Muggle money.”

“What’s Muggle money like, Dan?” Phil asked.

“It’s different in most countries. For instance, Britain has a currency called the ‘pound’ and America has the ‘dollar’ and most of Europe has the ‘euro’.”

“Why are they different?”

“I’m not entirely sure. It seems more reasonable to have one universal currency like wizards, honestly.”

Phil thought about this for a moment, then decided it was true. “Hey Dan,” he said, “can i show you something?”

“Sure. Ms. Lester, thank you for dinner.”

“My pleasure, Dan.”

Phil led Dan upstairs and pulled out a box of action figures of all shapes and sizes. Phil knew Dan would recognise a few of the action figures, since they were from Muggle TV shows and video games. Phil pulled out two toy versions of the characters Tifa and Cloud from _Final Fantasy VII_. Phil gave Cloud to Dan and he himself had Tifa. Then, Dan and Phil began playing with the toys, often stopping for Dan to explain what a video game was and how the characters related to it. Dan promised Phil that he would show him _Final Fantasy VII_ someday on an actual computer.

They played for hours, developing a plot with their two characters and eventually even more figures from other games and shows. The plot to their game was that the Transformer called Soundwave had kidnapped Optimus Prime, and Cloud and Tifa had to save him. After a long time playing, Dan suddenly stopped and turned around, looking at the staircase. No, not at the staircase, through it. Phil glanced at the clock. 11:11 p.m.

“Dan…,” Phil said. “What’s wrong?”

Dan turned back around, distracted. “N-nothing. I just thought I heard something. Let’s go to bed, I’m getting tired.”

“Good idea. I have the best thing planned for tomorrow.”

*****

Dan lay awake in the bed he was sharing with Phil, staring at the now closed staircase. The staircase had closed itself when the two boys got in bed, and Dan had been staring right through it since. He didn’t know exactly how, and he knew that he was the only person he knew who could do this, but he could sense magic in things. Ever since he stepped foot in Hogwarts, he could feel magic pulsing through everything, even some Muggle objects. If he concentrated, he could tell what the magic did. The magic imbued into his school robes was a protection spell and forbade him from going into any of the common rooms other than Slytherin. This problem was easily solved by him removing the robes and wearing Muggle clothes. The magic in the brooms was fairly easy to find out, it was a flying charm. His wand was less one spell, and more of a very bright colour whenever he tried to focus on it. The one time he had made the mistake of doing so, his mind’s eye had been seared with a bright white light and he couldn’t use this odd power of his for the next three days. Dan found that he quickly got used to feeling magic all around him in this way, it became a norm. But when he felt that door, something had been different. The door reverberated with a low, dark purple energy. It had so many spells on it that Dan had almost fallen over when he tried to detect it. Not only that, but whatever room was behind it had incredibly powerful magic inside it. Dan was desperate to find out what was behind that thick hazelwood door. The problem was that the door was only accessible when the stairs were up, which meant that he and Phil, or at least one of them, had to be in bed.

Dan thought of all of this as he drifted off, comforted by Phil, only a few inches away from him. Dan turned around, away from the door, and watched Phil sleep. Phil looked so peaceful when he slept. A small smile was on Phil’s face, and Dan wondered what he was dreaming about. Dan turned and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the universe and existence. He was about to start panicking about how short life was and that he and everyone he loved--Phil--would die someday when Phil rolled over and wrapped his arms around Dan. Dan caught his breath. Dan turned his head and looked at Phil, smiling. He hesitated, then decided he was far enough away from his parents that he could be a little more honest with himself.  
Dan fell asleep with his arms around Phil.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan investigates the mysterious door in Phil's home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for so long! I'll try to keep updating frequently if people are enjoying it.

Phil woke up shivering, not understanding why. He had dreamed that Dan had been holding him, but he was sure that his friend would never do that in a million years. Dan was reluctant with any physical touch, and Phil respected that. But Phil had been so warm that night, so comfortable. More comfortable than any other time he had slept in his bed. 

He yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, searching the room for Dan. The stairs were down and Dan was nowhere to be seen. Phil got up and got dressed, and he assumed that Dan was eating breakfast or talking with Phil's mum. He did hear Dan’s voice downstairs, speaking in a hushed tone. Curious, Phil peeked down the stairs and looked at Dan. Dan was talking into the rectangular black box that he had attempted to explain to Phil on the Hogwarts Express, so long ago. Dan looked worried, and he was speaking quietly and anxiously into the box, which Phil thought he remembered Dan call an eye phone. Why it was related to eyes was beyond Phil, but now he was far more worried about Dan. Phil saw Dan go pale at something that the eye phone said. Phil listened for Dan’s response.

“But...no... you can’t...how would you get me? I’m in what you called a ‘freak house’,” Dan made air quotes with his empty hand. “No. I’m not going to. For once, I’m happy, the time I’m away from you,” Dan’s voice turned into a quiet snarl. “You’ve micromanaged my every move since I was a toddler, and now that I’m growing up, becoming independent, you hate that I realise how awful you’ve been. Dad,” Dan’s voice cracked the word, and Phil felt his stomach drop. The eye phone was somehow pretending to be Dan’s father? The one who Dan cried about that night? Phil put his hand over his mouth. “Dad, you can’t control me any more, you’re a Muggle--I mean, you don’t have magic. Non-magic people can’t come here, this place doesn’t even appear on a map, so now you can’t torment me,” Dan had tears streaming down his face. “I’m not going home. You can’t force me to. Goodbye, Dad.”

Dan pressed his thumb to the screen of the eye phone, his face red and splotchy. He began walking back up to the room, staring at his feet. Phil scrambled as quietly as he could back to the bed and pretended to be asleep. As soon as Phil’s head hit the pillow, the staircase closed. Phil groaned in frustration and sat up. The spell had forgotten that two people were living upstairs now. Phil could either get up and let Dan in, revealing that he had been awake and within earshot the entire time, or he could pretend to be asleep and leave Dan downstairs, blaming it on the spell later. Phil chose the latter. He was tired anyway.  
*****

Dan had just had a rather emotional conversation with his father. His father, Michael, had found out that he was not coming home for the holidays and demanded that Dan come back home immediately, or else. Dan had, of course, heard this threat before and he knew his father would follow through. The few times Dan had ignored the “or else” were the times when the bruises lasted the longest. This had been the first time when Dan was absolutely sure that he was safe from his father, and he was not going to let that change. The Lesters’ house was in the middle of nowhere. Literally. It didn’t show up on Muggle maps. Dan was safe, and he would go back to Hogwarts at the end of the break, where Muggles couldn’t go. In Muggle school, he had always dreaded weekends and the end of the school day, because it meant going home. He would have preferred loud, rude students and underpaid, irritated teachers over his father any day.

After Dan hung up on his dad, he smiled. In his fights with his dad, he was never allowed to win, because Michael thought that losing was a way of Dan personally attacking him. So Dan, in the fights, had two choices: argue his case, escalate the situation, and lose, or not argue, be submissive, and get screamed at for being a ‘pussy’ (and lose). But this time, Dan won. His father hadn’t gotten the last word, hit, or jab. His father wouldn’t get his way. Dan would be happy where he was, and Michael wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Dan walked towards the staircase, ready to sleep off the emotional exhaustion that always resulted from encounters with his father. He also could hug Phil again, which was a definite plus. But as he was walking towards the staircase, Dan felt a magical surge and the staircase closed. His head snapped up. So, Phil had been out of bed until just now. Had he been listening? It didn’t matter. Dan had already opened up his heart and soul to the other boy. But with the staircase closed, Dan would have a chance of getting through the powerful door.  
Ms. Lester was nowhere to be seen, not even in her bedroom, which was through a door that led off from the kitchen. Dan now assumed she was inside the mystery room. This meant that even if he did manage to make it into the mystery room, Ms. Lester would catch him. So, he simply decided to inspect the door.

He approached it cautiously, quietly, and it made Dan’s head buzz with energy. The closer he got, the more intense the feeling was. By the time he was within touching distance of the door, his ears were ringing and his eyes were watering from the energy. It felt like his whole body had the tingling feeling one gets when their foot falls asleep. He steeled his nerves and ignored every instinct that was screaming at him to run and never get close to that room again; it was too powerful. He reached out to touch the door’s handle, but it felt like his arm was filled with lead. He strained, and finally he came in contact with the handle.  
Crack! Dan flew backwards into the sofa, pushing it into the edge of the fireplace. Head smacked the corner of the couch. His hair had curled and was poofy. Steam curled off his body. His face was red and when he looked at his hand, he saw a red mark in the shape of the door handle. He tried to stand up but his vision went black and he fell over again.  
*****  
Phil startled awake. He had heard a crash and the sound of wood grinding against wood. He leapt out of bed and began walking down the staircase before it even finished lowering. His heart pounding, he jumped off the staircase and saw Dan lying on the floor, slumped against the couch, his hair disheveled and his face red and shiny with sweat. The sofa was pushed against the stone fireplace. The room looked like a wind tunnel had flown Dan backwards from…

Phil stopped in his place when he saw. The rug, the sofa, Dan himself, a small table and the lamp that sat on it, looked as if a huge force had pushed them out of place. The origin of the force could only have been the door. Phil rushed over to Dan, checking the other boy over for marks, to make sure he was okay. There was a pretty large welt forming on the back of Dan’s head where he hit the corner of the couch, and a circular burn on his left hand, but other than that he seemed okay. Phil lifted Dan, not without effort, as the other boy was taller than him. Phil carried Dan into the bed and layed him down, making sure his head was turned so that the bump on his head was okay. Phil, without thinking, held Dan’s hand and squeezed it, then went downstairs and made a cool damp rag to place on Dan’s forehead. Dan hadn’t stopped sweating, and he looked incredibly warm. On his way back upstairs, Phil saw his mother in the den, staring blankly at the furniture. Phil stopped walking and looked hard at her, holding the damp rag in his hands.

“Mum,” Phil began coolly. His mother looked up, confused.

“Philip, what happened in here?”

“Your door happened. I don’t know exactly. I think Dan touched it and he flew backwards into the sofa. There’s a burn on his hand in the shape and size of the door handle. Could you explain why there’s a spell to do that on your door?”  
“I-I don’t. I’ve got no harmful spells on that door, only protection. The most harmful spell I’ve got on there just makes people not notice it at first. People just look over the door and don’t even see it unless someone points it out. Philip, did you show Dan the door?”

“No,” Phil said, now very confused. How had Dan known about the door then? Yesterday, when they got here-- “the second we walked in the door, he was staring at that door like he wanted to burn through it. Mum, I’ve never asked you, because you asked me not to, but what is behind that door?”

“I’m sorry, Philip,” Ms. Lester said quietly. “I can’t tell you. I would if I could, but I can’t. I will someday. Right now we need to figure out how this happened at all. Where’s your friend?”

“He’s upstairs in my bed. I heard a crash and I came downstairs and the room was like this, except Dan was knocked out on the floor. He was unconscious, mum. How did that happen if you didn’t put a spell like that on the door?”  
Ms. Lester thought for a while. “I guess we’ll find out. There’s something odd about him that I can’t place. He knows things, he’s curious, he’s different than other muggleborns I’ve met. He probably knows why this happened. You should probably ask him, he seems to trust you a lot. Watch him, make sure he is who you think he is. He thinks highly of you. You’ve done right by that boy, Philip. He likes you.”

As Phil went upstairs to check on Dan, he thought about this. Phil smiled, butterflies in his stomach. His mother had said that Dan likes him. Well, Phil liked Dan too, so he was happy. Phil looked back at his mum once more, then continued back up the stairs. He looked up to the bed and made eye contact with a very much awake Dan.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More information comes to light as the pair investigate the strange door in Phil's house.

“D-did you hear--” Phil began.  
“Your mum call me odd? Tell you to watch me? Yes, I did, ‘Philip’.” Dan said, his voice cool and angry.  
“Did you hear the beginning of the conversation?” Phil said quietly.  
“No, why?”  
“Dan, how did you know that the door existed? There’s a spell on it to make it go unnoticed. You shouldn’t’ve been able to see it unless someone showed you.”  
“I guess the spell didn’t work on me.” Dan’s voice was still hard, unemotional.  
“Stuff like that doesn’t happen, Dan. Spells either work on everyone, or don’t work at all. That spell has worked on every person who has come into our house. Except you. I know you know why. Why did the door do that when you touched it? Why did it burn you, why did it throw you into the sofa? There are no harmful spells on the door at all.”  
Dan swallowed hard. “I know exactly what spells are on there, and trust me, there’s a lot.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Get in the bed so I can make sure no one’s eavesdropping.”  
Phil did as he was told, and Dan took a deep breath. “How do you know what spells are on the door?”  
“It’s not just the door. The minute I stepped onto Hogwarts’ grounds, I felt this weird...buzz. Like vibrations, in everything, all the time. For the first week and a half, I thought I was sick. But I got used to it. Wizard places are overwhelming, I feel like I can hear--see, uh feel, everything. All the magic, in everything. The brooms we rode yesterday had flying charms on them and a less noticeable one to keep the balance of the person riding it. Our school robes forbid us from entering other common rooms or leaving school grounds during a school day. Hogwarts itself keeps Muggles from seeing it at all, that’s an illusion charm. The statue in the corridors have a dormant spell on them that, if activated, they can fight. I can feel the spells on everything, and that door, no, the room, is the most powerful thing I’ve felt, only topped by our wands and Hogwarts itself. That room is almost as powerful as Hogwarts, Phil. What’s in there?”  
“I don’t know…”  
“Don’t lie.”  
“I’m not. My mum always told me to keep away from that room, and I did. I guess I never thought anything of it. Dan, what if your...um, ability, made it happen? With the door? What if you, like, conducted the magic from the door like electricity? And, since there was nowhere for the magic to go, it went outward?”  
“That...actually makes a lot of sense. That also explains the weird feeling I get when I hold magical objects, like the magic is running through me. Huh.”  
“Dan, I want to help you figure out what’s behind the door.”  
“You do?”  
“Yes. I’m curious now, and I’ll die not knowing. So, let’s do this together. Like always.”  
Dan smiled. It was real, and warm, and Phil loved it. He hugged Dan. The two hugged for a couple seconds, then Phil pulled away.   
“First, you’re going to tell me everything about your weird power. I’m so curious.”  
Dan explained. Phil grew more interested with every word. He listened attentively, asking questions when he was curious and absorbing the information like a sponge.   
A few days passed without incident. The boys played during midday, plotting in the mornings and afternoons. By Friday, they had made a rough sketch of what they were going to do, and Phil had gotten the idea to test things with Dan’s ability. They had figured out that if Dan wore leather gloves, he couldn’t “conduct” the magic any more. He could still sense it, but not feel it in the things he touched. Phil theorised that this meant that if Dan wore a leather cap and gloves at the same time, then his ability would be temporarily nullified. Dan didn’t want to try to test it, and Phil didn’t have a leather cap on hand, so this was simply a theory. They also found out that Dan could practically see with his eyes closed, if he was surrounded by magical things. Dan explained to Phil that just being outside qualified as magical, since he could feel the raw, unfocused magic pulsing within the Earth. Dan theorised that the Earth was where wizards got their magic, and Phil pointed out that this may be why the Ministry of Magic was underground. Dan didn’t know what the Ministry of Magic was, but it sounded intimidating. Every night, the two fell asleep hard, exhausted from the day’s planning and experimenting. Every night, Ms. Lester disappeared into the mysterious room immediately after the boys fell asleep. Phil, lying awake one night, thought she heard her leave the house. For fear of being wrong and getting caught, he didn’t check it out.   
On Saturday morning, Phil woke up to the sun shining through his window. Dan was gone, and Phil heard noises outside. When he looked through the window, he saw Dan outside with the blindfold on, wandering around. Though Dan seemed not to have a definite area he was aiming for, he didn’t have the wobbly, unsure step of an ordinary blindfolded person. Phil watched Dan from the window, smiling. His hair was curling on the left side of his head because of the blindfold, and when he bumped into a tree branch or a garden gnome, Phil couldn’t help but smile. After a while, Phil snuck downstairs, planning to try and surprise the blindfolded Dan. He opened the door silently and snuck up behind him.  
Dan twirled around and lifted Phil up, spinning the other boy in his arms as the two laughed.  
“Da-aan!” Phil giggled. “How did you see me?”  
“Did I not tell you?” Dan pulled off the blindfold. “Every magical person to me has, uh, a sort of pulse of magic through them. At Hogwarts, it’s in everyone. The better you are at magic, the brighter your pulse, at least I think that’s how it works. Headmistress McGonagall has a very bright pulse, while Professor Slughorn, poor man, has a rather dim one. Yours is really bright compared to everyone else in our year, that’s how I knew it was you.”  
Phil thought for a moment. “What about yours?”  
“I...can’t see mine,” Dan blinked. This seemed to be the first time he realised this.  
“That’s interesting. I wonder why not,” Phil said, then he got an idea. “Hey, Dan, do you want to sword fight?” He picked up a small tree branch that had fallen on the ground, smiling. Dan got a mischievous grin in his eyes as he picked up a branch. Screeching with laughter, the now-knights chased each other around the yard.  
When the sun began to set, they went inside up to Phil’s room. Phil pulled open the loose board in his closet floor and retrieved a stack of papers and a box of pencils. He spread the former on the floor as Dan kneeled next to him.  
On the papers were notes, sketches, and theories that the boys had compiled in the past few days concerning Dan’s ability and the door. They had discovered that Phil could touch it without event, and the same was for Dan if he was wearing the leather gloves. Using Dan’s phone, they had tried to use the “Internet”, a thing that Phil was confused about how exactly it worked, to look up spells of this caliber. Of course, by Wizard law, the Internet was prohibited for use of posting about the existence of wizards, if he or she was a wizard. This meant the Internet was entirely useless to their search. However, Phil was ensnared by this new technology and Dan spent a whole day explaining websites and the Internet to him. Phil asked his mother for an eye phone, but she politely told him that she wasn't sure she could afford one. Phil was crestfallen and, to make him feel better, Dan watched a few episodes of the Muggle TV show called "Haikyuu!!". Phil was elated. They spent the whole weekend on Dan’s eye phone. They got through all of "Haikyuu!!" and some of detective show called "Sherlock". Phil was elated at the both of these shows and didn’t want to stop watching them, until Dan reminded him about the door. By Monday, they were back in full swing, investigating.   
Dan and Phil were, this time, at the actual door, testing a theory of Phil’s. Phil had hypothesised that since Dan said that wands were like a blinding light to his mind’s eye then maybe he could sense other powerful magical items. Dan agreed and said this was a solid theory so they approached the door, Dan wearing the leather gloves, which he pointed out with really powerful things like wands or the door only subdued the incoming magical energies instead of cut it off completely. So, when Dan followed Phil’s instruction and placed both hands on the door, he groaned quietly.  
“You okay?” Phil said hurriedly. “If it starts to hurt, take your hands off right away, this isn’t worth you getting hurt again.”  
“I...I’m fine. I’m looking...for things, in there. Wait. I can see something.” Dan concentrated, and Phil thought he saw Dan’s eyes, just for a minute, turn emerald green.  
“It’s powerful, and it feels, I don’t know...it feels evil. And alive. Phil, it’s alive! It knows! It knows!” Dan screeched, wrenching his hands away, steam curling off the leather. He looked at Phil, and Phil felt his stomach drop in fear. Dan’s eyes were definitely, without a doubt, solid green. No whites, no pupils. Phil rushed to Dan and grabbed him, right at the moment when the other boy collapsed. Again.   
*****  
Dan awoke in Phil’s bed with an ice pack over his forehead. What had just happened? He was investigating the door, talking to Phil, and then…  
Oh. Dan shivered. His memory was fuzzy, like a dream. Well, not exactly. What actually happened, Phil standing next to him as Dan placed his hands on the mysterious door and used his "special magic powers!!1!", was what was fuzzy. The dream Dan had just had was crystal clear. He had dreamt that inside the room was an expensive mahogany desk, surrounded by hundreds of papers scattered across the desk and the floor. The papers were covered in notes, diagrams, what looked like maps, and rough sketches of what looked like maps. Books were pulled off the shelves, lying open on the floor. In the middle of this mess of notes and books was a stern, focused Ms. Lester, who seemed to be talking to someone.   
“No, no! I told you, I’m not doing that. This is going to stay secret, until I’ve found everyone. You can’t force me to use--to use my son that way.”  
Ms. Lester paused, as if she was listening to something. “The other one? What do you--no, Phil cares too much for him, I could never...he’s, he’s listening? How?” Dan felt ice down his spine and knew that whatever was talking to Ms. Lester was talking about him. It knew he was there. Ms. Lester stood and walked toward the place where Dan would have been standing, had the dream been real. “But I sealed the door, with all the spells I knew, how could he…? No, I’m not doing that to him, he would know!”  
She paused, listening. “It really wouldn’t hurt him? Are you sure…? Perhaps if I…,” she held her wand up and whispered, “Bombarda Infirmatur.”  
And then Dan had thought he had felt a surge of energy and a blast, but instead has awakened with the ice pack over his forehead, sweating despite the cold. It’s just a dream, he reassured himself, though a seed of doubt was growing in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovelies! Sorry this took so long to post, I hit a bit of a writer's wall...no, not a wall, a barricade. I finally got inspired to write more though, and more is certainly on the way! I might post a one-shot soon, so look forward to that!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As winter break comes to a close, Phil finds trouble waiting for him when the pair head back to Hogwarts.

Until Christmas Eve, the two desperately tried to find out more about the room. Their efforts were thwarted, however, when Dan pointed out that he couldn’t see the spells on the door at all anymore, and Ms. Lester, on the same day, told them to stop snooping around her office. Phil, burning with curiosity, never wanted to let it go, wanted to keep searching until they found all the answers, which was very Ravenclaw of him, but he didn’t mind. He wanted to know why the secrecy surrounded the door, and eleven years of pent up inquisitiveness seeped out of his every pore. He had assumed that him and his companion would keep working on it anyway, but when he asked Dan about it, the other boy’s response came as a surprise.

“So, Dan, what are we going to do next to get into the door? We have to find a way around your not being able to see the spells and all,” Phil said thoughtfully, pacing around his room while Dan sat on the bed reading. 

“I don’t want to look into the door anymore, Phil,” Dan stated, sounding distant. 

Phil paused his pacing and stared blankly at Dan. “Why not?”

“It gives me a bad feeling,” Dan stated, looking somewhat shaken. After that, he wouldn’t talk of the matter anymore. Whenever Phil brought it up, Dan would say something of the like, and they continued on doing whatever they were doing. Phil never lost his curiosity, however, and vowed to find out, one day, what was through that door. 

Christmas Day came, and Phil woke up early, as always, elated for the day that was to come. He pounced on Dan, shaking him awake. Dan groaned. “Whatizzit?” 

“It’s Christmas, Dan! The big _C_! Xmas! Chrissy Time! All those things!” Phil bounced back on the bed, jumping with every word. “The day for joy and happiness, and best of all, _presents_!” 

Dan rolled over, away from Phil, unfazed by the Gryffindor’s excitement. Phil immediately suspected something. “What’s wrong, Dan? Are you ill?”

“No,” Dan said flatly. Phil continued his interrogation.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Dan repeated.

“Are you upset about the door?”

“No!” Dan said again.

“Well what’s wrong then?”

“I don’t like Christmas,” Dan mumbled.

“What?!” Phil was astounded. How could someone not like Christmas? “Why not?”

“I just don’t.”

Phil sat on the bed next to Dan, confused. Why was Dan acting this way? Was he angry? Upset? Phil pondered quietly as he gazed at his best and only friend. Deciding that it was best not to press and to let Dan come downstairs when he was ready, Phil walked down the stairs, his Christmas mood somewhat ebbing. He looked at the pile of presents under the tree, and realised why Dan might be upset. Suddenly, thousands of conversations with Dan where he talked bitterly of his parents, how they favoured his younger brother, how he was always shut up in his room or getting yelled at for being ungrateful, came crashing down onto Phil.

Phil darted to the Christmas tree, which had floating, sparkly lights surrounding it and a star that actually burned. He checked the names on the presents, and found that half of them did, indeed, say _For Daniel_ on them, but all of them were from Phil or his mum, and none from Dan’s parents. Putting this thought aside, Phil brought the presents addressed to Dan upstairs, and he was carrying at least six of various shapes and sizes. He made his way up the stairs, stopping twice to pick up dropped items. 

He reached the top and piled the parcels on the bed next to Dan, who heard the ruffling of paper and slowly turned to look, examining one of the packages.

“But...it’s addressed to me,” Dan hesitated. “Wh--from you? And your mother?”

Phil pretended not to hear Dan’s voice crack with emotion. He spoke softly. “Of course. You mean a lot to me, er, us.”

“Can I open it? Them?”

“Yes! Go ahead, I know you’ll love them.”

And so Dan began, but halfway into opening the package, his shoulders began to quiver in a way that Phil was all too familiar with and Phil was on the bed, next to Dan, in no time, hugging him. Dan leaned his head into Phil’s shoulder and Phil felt the wetness from Dan’s tears through his clothes. They hugged for a long time, with Phil giving occasional words of encouragement as he held the other boy in his arms. Dan collected himself and wiped his eyes, looking at the present he was still holding, with one part of the paper removed. Phil watched Dan, both of them silent, as he unwrapped the gift, which was about the size of a paperweight. Dan removed the object from the packaging and found a hand-knitted stuffed bear. It was soft, with some stitches coming apart already, and the eyes sparkled like a thousand stars, a little wizard trick. The bear was chocolate coloured, like Dan’s hair, and had a little satin bow around its neck. Dan squeezed it tightly. 

“Phil, did you make this?” 

“Yeah, I, er, was learning some muggle activities over the summer and kitting was one of them so I decided to make you something,” Phil was blushing lightly. “Do you like it?”

“Yes! It’s amazing! Oh,” Dan smiled. “It’s ‘knitting’ by the way. The K is silent.”

“Of course it is,” Phil giggled. “Open your next one!”

Dan opened the rest of his presents, smiling broadly at each new wonder he unwrapped. Ms. Lester had given Dan a jumper in Slytherin colours, and the silver yarn actually shone and sparkled, while the deep green complemented Dan’s eyes famously. Also from Ms. Lester, he received some more useful things; an inkpot, a fancy quill, parchment, Geoff Ghoul’s Owl Care Kit, and book about handy spells to fix torn robes, broken quills, and the like. From Phil, he got a book about the magical creatures of the wizarding world, which Phil knew was one of Dan’s favourite subjects. Phil had also given Dan a hand-woven friendship bracelet, and he was wearing a matching one. The bracelets were mixed threads of green, silver, gold, and red, symbolising their houses becoming intertwined and new to them because of their friendship. 

“It’s magical,” Phil said about the bracelet. “The stronger our friendship, the brighter the colours and the longer it lasts and doesn’t fall off. So, it should last forever.”

Dan gave Phil a watery smile as he put on the bracelet. “It’s wonderful, Phil.”

The two went downstairs and Phil unwrapped his presents. Phil got much the same from his mother that Dan did. Quills, parchment, ink, a few books. Dan gave Phil high-level Transfiguration and Herbology books, and Phil was elated. His two favourite subjects! And the books were so interesting, it was hard for him to put them down. Phil gave his mother a crystal potion glass that he’d seen her eyeing in Diagon Alley over the summer. All in all, the three were incredibly happy at the end of the day, especially so after eating some of Ms. Lester’s butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

The rest of the break passed easily, with the two boys playing, talking, laughing, and eating together jovially, the mystery of the door falling into the back of their minds. They played Quidditch, and Dan got much better, saying he might want to join the Slytherin team next year. Phil taught Dan the interesting things he was learning about the plants in their backyard, once indicating that the plant Dan was right next to could cure boils made by Bubotuber Pus.   
Finally, the morning came when they were to leave the haven that was Phil’s home and return to Hogwarts. With sad goodbyes to Ms. Lester, the two boarded the train to head to the place that was a wonderland and a hell for the two of them, though they would never tell Ms. Lester this; she would worry too much. They situated themselves in an empty compartment, putting their belongings on the rack above them. Dan sat one side, by the window, Phil beside him. Phil, tired from the early morning, dozed off with his head on Dan’s shoulder.

*********

Dan stiffened a little when Phil’s head rested on his shoulder, nervous about the display of affection in an open area, with other people. He sighed, not wanting to wake Phil up, deciding it was fine because there was no one else in their little compartment. Dan watched Phil sleeping, watched the even rising and falling of the other boy’s chest, and had to quickly look away when he realised what he was doing. He couldn’t get a--no, he wouldn’t even let himself think the phrase. But Phil was so amazing, so kind and thoughtful and brave, it was no reason that in that moment, Dan realised that-- _NO_. He could not, would not have this happen to him. Not after he was already probably going to be killed by his parents over the summer, not after he was already being incessantly bullied for being a muggle born Slytherin and being friends with a Gryffindor, not after everything he’d had to put up with in the past few months. He absolutely would not tolerate his thoughts running away like that. He would not let himself feel this way. Not in a million years.

*********

Phil was startled awake by a jolt in the train as it turned. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, lifting his head off Dan’s shoulder. Dan was asleep, his head against the wall of the carriage. Phil focused his eyes on his surroundings, and jumped when he saw someone staring at him with a cold smile. Phil recognised this girl as Cat, Dan’s friend in Slytherin. She seemed to be taking some sort of dark mirth from the scene before her. Phil sat up quickly, scooting away from Dan. 

“Ooh, little lovebirds, are we? You spent the whole break together, you’d think you two would’ve had enough of each other,” Cat scoffed, contempt in her voice, a trait which most Slytherins carried proudly.

“I fell asleep,” Phil said, defensive.

“Obviously,” Cat said, leaning back in the seat and sprawling her legs across the cushions. “You’re Dan’s Gryffindor...friend, right?”

“Y-yes,” Phil stuttered, thrown off by the way she said _friend_ , like it was something inappropriate or wrong. 

“Well, before he wakes, let me tell you something. Pete, was it?”

“Phil.”

“Whatever, Paul. The thing is,” Cat leaned forward, close to Phil’s face. Her brown eyes were so different from Dan’s, they held none of the warmth or compassion that Dan’s did. They were cold, unforgiving walls. Phil leaned away from her subconsciously, sinking into the plush of the seat. “Dan is my friend, and I’ve noticed you’ve been getting a little too close with him lately. I’ll tell it to you flat, Patrick--”

“Phil.”

“Right. I don’t like you. I don’t think you’re good for Dan. He’s too dependent on you and you two being attached at the hip is good for no one. Not only that, but you, a pureblood, should know that a friendship between you two--a Slytherin and a Gryffindor--is ridiculous. Your stupid bravery is going to get Dan hurt one day, or your Gryffindor friends will turn on both you and him. Those are the only possibilities. So either you back off, or I’ll _make_ you,” Cat ended in a low snarl.

“How might you go about ‘making’ me?” Phil said bravely. Cat simply smirked and winked. 

“I guess you’ll find out. Oh, and by the way,” in a flash, Cat whipped out her wand and pointed it at Phil. “ _Secretum signatus_.”

“What did you just do to me?” Phil exclaimed.

“Now you can’t talk about the subject. Not to anyone other than me, at least. I learned that spell before the break in Charms class. Sucks to be a first year, doesn’t it, Pierre?”

“My name is Phil!” Phil said exasperatedly.

“Yeah. Well, Dan is waking up, so tell him what just happened. Oh yeah, you can’t.”

Phil felt like slapping Cat right upside her pointy head, but she was right, Dan was stirring. He expected Cat to leave, but she stayed, watching Dan wake up. Phil did the same, keeping his peripheral vision on Cat, half expecting her to do something to harm his friend. She stayed still, looking more relaxed and far less intimidating and threatening than the Cat who Phil had seen seconds before. Phil relaxed as well, knowing nothing could happen to him while Dan was awake.

“Hey, Dan,” Phil said, slightly harder than he meant to. Dan, knowing Phil, woke up faster from the unexpected tone. He rubbed his eyes and saw Cat, jumping a bit when he did. _So she intimidates Dan too,_ Phil thought to himself. 

“Hey, Phil. Hi, Cat,” Dan said sleepily, sitting up and unknowingly copying Phil by quietly putting distance between the two of them in the presence of Cat. 

“Hi, Dan!” Cat said excitedly. “When I saw you two in this compartment, I had to come say hi to you. I haven’t seen you in two weeks, but it feels like forever!”  
Phil was astounded at the sudden change in character for the girl before him. Unable to do anything else, he smiled politely.

“Thanks, Cat, I missed you,” Dan said, giving her a hug. Jealousy grew within Phil, a monster being fed by the conversation between the sadistic Slytherin girl and his favourite person in the world. 

“I missed you, too! You have got to hear what I did over the break!”

The train ride went much like this, with Dan and Cat trading stories, though Phil did notice that Dan left out all the parts with his powers, only mentioning the door as an unsolved mystery and nothing more. Cat had apparently gone to America over the break, enjoying muggle attractions like “The Universe Studio” in Florida. Phil sat back, mainly silent, through this, feeling as though Cat was already showing him what she was doing to “make” him leave Dan alone. He wished, not for the last time, that he could talk about the threat from Cat. 

When they arrived at Hogwarts, it was almost dinnertime, with them having eaten on the train. They were ushered in lines to carriages by the train filling with students. Phil almost spoke again about the skeletal horses pulling said carriages, but he remembered Dan’s cluelessness on the first day and stayed quiet. Maybe only he could see them. Maybe he was going crazy. He felt like he was. 

The students rode the carriages to the castle, and upon arriving they were ushered to the Great Hall. The students quickly sat down at their House tables, very ready for the hearty dinner that was to come. Phil turned away from Dan to go to the Gryffindor table and said a short “bye” to which Dan absently waved, still talking to Cat. Phil tried not to feel hurt, but he merely felt a surge of anger at Cat rise up within him. What if Dan started to like Cat more than Phil? He wasn’t sure he could handle that. Dan was the closest person to him in the world. The monster of jealousy in his mind was growing. He sat at the Gryffindor table and made an effort to look indifferent to the bond between Dan and Cat. 

“Heya, Phil!” Chris said cheerily.

“Hi, Chris!” Phil said with forced enthusiasm.

The two talked about their breaks and Phil found himself doing the same thing Dan did: omitting most of the details about the door. It was, after all, simply an unsolved mystery without Dan’s powers being mentioned. Chris even introduced Phil to two new people who Phil hadn’t met in the previous semester. 

“Hey, c’mere!” Chris shouted to two people a couple metres down the table. They approached, and Phil looked them over, realising he recognised them from some of his classes.

The one on the left was short, with blond hair that seemed to stick straight up from his head. He had squarish glasses and a jovial face that seemed to be laughing at a joke not yet spoken. The girl to his right was short as well, with bleached blonde hair that was shaved on one side. To Phil’s surprise, the girl was wearing Hufflepuff attire, even though she had been sitting with the Gryffindors. She was somehow shorter than the boy but seemed like she was trying not to be by standing on her tiptoes while looking at him. Chris poked the girl and told her to cut it out and introduce herself. She held out her hand.

“Hi! I’m Hannah. Hannah Hart. Nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Tyler! Oakley. You seem nice, can we sit?”

“Uh, sure, go ahead,” Phil stuttered. They sat next to him, on the opposite side of Chris. Tyler reached around Hannah, who was closest to Phil, to pick a buttered roll off Phil’s plate. 

“Hey!” Phil protested.

“You weren’t eating it,” Tyler smiled, biting the roll. Phil rolled his eyes, picking up another one from a dish. Tyler seemed to notice someone else and began talking to him. “Oh hey Marcus!”

Phil tuned out Tyler after that and got to know Hannah a little bit. She was fun, and made an excessive amount of puns, but Phil admired that in a person, and they got on really well. She was interested in a lot of the food, and ate a lot for her small stature. She also wondered aloud how much of this was made, and wanted to learn someday. Her favourite subject was Potions, and she excelled at it, which Phil learned quickly when he asked what she could make and she produced dozens of tiny bottles out of her robes and dumped them on the table, beaming. 

“Is-is that allowed? To make your own potions?” Phil asked.

“No, but I made them over the break, so technically I didn’t break any school rules,” she said, winking. “You can always come to me if you need a potion. I’m teaching myself new stuff all the time, too.”

“How do you know if you made it right?”

“I try it!”

“You...drink the potion?”

“Oh, yes, only sometimes does it have bad results. Once, I was trying to make a Potion of Prophetic Dreams, I was curious, you know, and I put in too much Alihotsy in it and it ended up covering me in rashes for a week! That taught me, didn’t it?” She laughed.

“I-I guess…,” Phil said. Her bravery was very Gryffindor, her inquisitiveness incredibly Ravenclaw. He reckoned this combination was what made her Hufflepuff. He admired this. They talked for the rest of dinner, Tyler and Chris joining in occasionally. 

At the end of the night, when Phil collapsed on his bed in exhaustion from the day, he found himself wanting to cry. He had hoped to befriend Dan’s other friend, not villainize her. She seemed determined to ruin everything he loved, which was a feeling he was starting to associate to Hogwarts. On the other hand, he had met two wonderful people who could end up being his best friends. He pulled the curtains around his bed shut and buried his face in his pillow. Before long, he was asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil tries to remedy his friendship with Dan, when everything backfires.

The semester began much the same as it had left off, except for one major difference: Dan began spending a lot of time with Cat, to the point where Phil was sometimes excluded from conversations. Phil felt his heart crumple every time Dan said it was “just this once” that he would talk to Cat instead of Phil during class or passing periods. Phil, in an unintended response, grew close to Hannah, Tyler, and Chris. They talked at mealtimes, after class, whenever they could, but Phil always felt like there was an emptiness where he and Dan’s closeness had once lived. 

One day, in late March, Phil awoke to find his friendship bracelet--now three months old--fading in colour. He panicked, trying to put a spell on it to strengthen it, to tell it that he was Dan’s best friend, the closest person to him in the whole world, why was it fading? Phil almost ran to Slytherin table at that moment, pyjamas and all, just to make sure Dan was still his best friend, still the person closest to him. Phil knew for certain that Dan was so special to him in so many ways, so why was the friendship bracelet fading? It couldn’t be that Dan didn’t feel the same way anymore, could it? 

Of course not. Right?

Phil dressed, an anxious look on his round face. He wished puberty would come. All the third years and above looked so cool and adult. He was in the process of tying his Gryffindor tie when someone tackled him from behind and he fell onto his bed. 

“Hey!” he said, a little too angrily, turning around to see his attacker, who’s glasses had fallen off in the collapse. “Tyler!”

“You were just...so vulnerable…,” Tyler laughed, wheezing and pushing Phil off of him.

“I was getting ready!” Phil said, frustrated but unable to keep himself from smiling.

“Oh, come on,” Tyler said, grinning. “You know you love me.”

“Sure,” Phil smiled as he stood up from the bed, fixing his hair and redoing his tie. Tyler always improved his mood. 

“And I’m your best friend,” Tyler continued. 

“Sure,” Phil repeated, then walked stoically out of the dorm, then the common room, then to the Great Hall, sitting down with the other Gryffindors at the table. He quietly picked up a piece of french toast. He looked at it on his plate and didn’t eat it. He found himself looking up, across the Great Hall, zoning out while staring in the general direction of Slytherin table. He quickly looked back down, blushing slightly, when he made eye contact with Dan. Phil made a decision. He sighed, gathered his courage, and stood up. 

Phil walked around the perimeter of the Great Hall to Slytherin table, which was on the opposite side from Gryffindor. Phil located a spot across from Dan where there was an open space of bench. He sat down, trying his best to give off an air of bravery, as if he didn’t care that he was a _Gryffindor_ , for Merlin’s sake, sitting at the freaking _Slytherin_ table. He was ignoring so many Hogwarts social policies that he was shaking. But he held on, steeled his nerves, and looked straight at Dan, smiling broadly. Dan looked astounded.

“Hey, Dan!” Phil said, trying to sound excited and not terrified by all the menacing Slytherins he was literally surrounded by. Dan, for a few moments, just stared at Phil blankly.

“Uh, hi, Phil...glad to see you,” Dan started.

“Same to you! How’ve your classes been going? We haven’t gotten to talk much lately. I miss that,” Phil began to sound more confident.

“I, uh, I miss that too,” Dan seemed a bit flustered.

“Do you want to meet after class?” Phil asked, making the mistake of glancing at Cat, who was staring daggers at Phil. Cat’s words echoed in his mind, still plaguing him after near three months. 

“Sure! That would be nice,” Dan responded. Phil, on an impulse, winked at Dan. Dan blushed and look down. Phil made eye contact with Cat and managed to smirk a little instead of running away screaming like he wanted to. He walked away quickly. That girl was terrifying. He hoped she didn’t do anything to Dan to keep them from meeting up. Of course, she could never guess when or where they would be meeting.  
Dan and Phil had made a system of code words for situations they might need to escape during the previous semester. The one they used most of the time was the phrase Phil had stated earlier, “Do you want to meet after class?” It mean something more along the lines of “Let’s meet in our spot by the lake around 5:15,” so people couldn’t follow them and couldn’t possibly know what time they’d be in their spot. In a similar fashion, if one of them followed the phrase with “at lunch” instead of “after class,” then that meant immediately. Another example would be if Dan called Phil “Philip” or Phil called Dan “Daniel,” it meant that the person needed to get out of the current situation as soon as possible. So of course Dan had agreed to the offer to meet up. Phil couldn’t help himself from being worried about Cat, however. 

*****

Dan looked sullenly into his porridge, stirring it slowly. Something Phil had said had really struck him. _We haven’t gotten to talk much lately. I miss that._ Not only did Phil recognise Dan’s emotional distance, he missed what they had had. Dan, of course, knew exactly why they had become distant, as he had been the catalyst of it. But he wasn’t willing to let himself form a coherent sentence explaining it. That would make it real. He didn’t want it to be, because he didn’t want to drift away from Phil, he didn’t want to lose him or to, Merlin forbid, hurt Phil. Maybe they would become closer again someday, Dan didn’t know. 

After breakfast, Dan headed to his classes. He had first hour near Phil’s, so he decided to walk beside his friend, ignoring his brain screaming at him not to get too close. Phil was next to a couple of other people Dan had seen him with, not that Dan had been paying any attention to Phil’s antics when he wasn’t with him. The girl was a Hufflepuff and didn’t have a first hour nearby Phil or Dan, so she split off first to head to her first hour. The boy was in Gryffindor and looked a little nervous when Dan approached them. Phil looked surprised. The conversation that Phil had been having with the other Gryffindor stopped abruptly. Dan noticed this, feeling the discomfort in the air.

“Who’s your new friend, Phil?” Dan tried, smiling.

“Er, this is Tyler. Tyler, this is my friend Dan.”

“Oh, this is the friend you told me about!” Tyler said with obvious forced excitement. “I didn’t know he was in Slytherin.”

“Don’t worry, he’s nice,” Phil said, winking at Dan for the second time that day. Dan didn’t know what Phil was getting at with that, but he couldn’t help himself from blushing. This was why he was becoming weird around Phil! Why couldn’t he be normal?

“Er, yeah! I’m, uh, I try to be nice, er, yeah,” Dan said eloquently.

Phil and Tyler laughed. Dan blushed more. The three headed to their classes, and Dan found himself enjoying Phil’s company, and even the company of Tyler. Dan could see Phil was happy with Dan’s socialising as well. Maybe he didn’t have to be so distant after all. Maybe he could put his feelings aside and just be Phil’s friend again. 

The day passed, seeming as though it was going as slow as molasses. Dan couldn’t wait to meet Phil by the lake, and when sixth hour came along, Dan was fidgeting in his seat, simultaneously anxious and excited to meet up with Phil after so long. They hadn’t talked by the lake since...Dan thought for a moment. Since last semester. Dan, more than ever, wanted to meet up with Phil. 

After sixth hour, Dan, like he did every day, met Cat in the hallway. They began to chat.

“Are you excited to meet up with Phil after class?” Cat asked. Dan liked that Cat always seemed interested in what Dan cared about. Cat was a good friend, and had helped Dan out of his fair share of bad situations. Even better, she always had what was best for him in mind, like the mother he never had. 

“Definitely! We haven’t really talked in so long, and he’s my best friend, other than you, of course, and he’s so interesting to listen to, and funny and nice and--”

“Dan,” Cat interrupted, giving him a motherly look. “Are you forgetting what you told me earlier this year?”

Dan felt his stomach drop. He had wanted to forget. Forget his feelings, forget what he couldn’t change. He had just wanted to be Phil’s friend again. But of course he couldn’t, he had to face reality. And reality was that if he stayed friends with Phil, his life would be far worse than it already was, at home and at Hogwarts. 

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Dan mumbled sadly. 

“You can’t be friends with Phil. You know yourself better than anyone else and your situation can’t last. You can’t be happy together, too many people in this school will torment you and your parents will be even crueler and your life will be hell. It’s not your fault. The social standards of this school suck sometimes, but it’s for your own safety that you follow those standards, do you understand?”

“Yes,” Dan said quietly. “I understand.” 

*****

Phil arrived early to their spot by the lake, giddy with excitement. He took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers, and put his feet in the water and laid down, staring at the infinite blue of the sky. He watched the clouds drift across the sky for what felt like forever before he started looking around for Dan, noticing his absence. Where was he? Judging by the sun, it was almost six, so shouldn’t he have gotten there a little while ago? 

Phil stood up, carrying his shoes with him and searching for Dan, afraid to call his name so as not to be discovered by other students. When Dan didn’t show, Phil decided to wait for him back in their place. He sat down and pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees, watching waves lap at the lakeshore. He fidgeted with his friendship bracelet, afraid to look at it. Finally, unable to resist, he lifted up his hand and looked at the symbol of the boys’ relationship. Had it always been that faded, had the Gryffindor gold always looked so yellow, had the Slytherin silver always looked so grey? He tried to stop thinking about the bracelet and looked into the lake. Mesmerised by the waves, he felt himself starting to drift off. He shifted positions into crossing his legs so he wouldn’t fall asleep. He found a sandy part of the shore and decided to pass the time by making a small sandcastle, then another, in a cycle of creation and destruction. When he got tired of this, he moved back to the bushes that concealed their little place, laying down and watching the now-darkening sky. He put his hands behind his head and watched as ever so slowly, the light changed the shade of the endless sky. He waited for Dan, hoping, more than anything in that moment, that he would show up. 

Phil awoke slowly and then very quickly when he realised what had happened. He sat up and looked around, hoping to find Dan. He could barely see and noticed that the sun had set completely and the world was dark and silent. He looked back towards Hogwarts. Most of the lights were off and only sparse corridor lighting and common room windows illuminated the dark stone castle. He looked around solemnly and decided to head back to the castle. He had waited long enough. He put on his shoes and unrolled his trousers and started walking.

He made his careful trek across the now dark grounds of the school, picking his way through rocks and roots, making sure he didn’t fall. He scolded himself for ever thinking that Dan would show. Why had he let himself get so hopeful? If the past three months were anything to go by, Dan never even planned to meet Phil. As Phil thought about this more, it became clear to him that he had been overly naive and hopeful in thinking that he would get to talk to Dan. Phil couldn’t tell if it was Dan being distant or Cat’s promise coming true, but he made a decision then and there that he wouldn’t let anyone break his friendship with Dan; he wouldn’t let anything bring him down.

Then, he tripped on an exposed root and fell into the dirt. He stood up and dusted himself off. Okay, he wouldn’t let anything bring him down _metaphorically_. On any other day, he would’ve laughed at the irony of this, but tonight his face was set in a permanent scowl. He promised himself he would do his best to keep Cat away from Dan, if that was what it took to keep their friendship alive. He was unsure of how he would go about this, but he would find a way. He had to.

Not only did Cat herself intimidate Phil, but Dan’s closeness with her terrified him. What if Cat hurt him? What if Dan began liking Cat more than him? What if Cat forbade Dan from talking to him? She wouldn’t do that, right? Dan would stop her and say that Phil was his friend, no, his best friend, and still be friends with Dan.

Right?

He thought about all this as he got back up to Gryffindor tower, quickening his pace. He froze when he heard the small padding feet and soft purring of Mrs. Norris. He hurried up the stairs. He tried to focus on making his footsteps quiet and fast, but he froze in place when a loud meow echoed through the corridors, the source being directly behind him. Phil turned slowly. To his dismay, Mrs. Norris was sitting on the stone floor, licking her paw. Phil swore she looked smug. He made a split-second decision and darted up the stairs. She hissed and followed in hot pursuit. 

Phil ran up the many flights of stairs, his breath feeling like ice in the back of his throat. He would not let himself get caught after hours, not after he had been stood up by the lake like that. Did the stairs ever end? Why were there so many staircases that just moved on their own whim, like they wanted Phil to get caught? Phil ran up the last staircase, at the top stood the portrait of the Fat Lady. Just as he was about to step off the stairs, they lurched to the side. Phil lost his balance and fell into the railing. Mrs. Norris approached like a lion to their meal. Phil could hear Filch lumbering up, towards him. His heart beat faster. He had never gotten caught for breaking the rules before, and now he was about to get in trouble with the Headmistress of all people. Why did his Head of House have to be Headmistress McGonagall?

“Well, well, well,” Filch sneered in his thick accent. “Looks like we’ve got a right fella out af’er hours, don’ we? What’s yer name, boy?”

“Er, Marcus Butler, sir,” Phil said.

“Don’ lie. I’ve had Marcus Butler sen’ to detention plenty a’ times, and you ain’ him.”

“Ph-Phil Lester, sir,” Phil said, blushing.

“You in Gryffindor, boy?” Filch said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Come with me. The Headmistress ain’ gonna be pleased with you, Lester.”

Phil walked sulkily behind Filch. Why had he even let himself believe that Dan would change, that Dan would even care? Because he had trusted Dan, he had wasted his day, broken the rules, and was probably going to lose Gryffindor house points. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at Mrs. Norris. Stupid cat. Stupid Cat. She had gotten him into this mess. Cat and Dan. Why did he keep trying so hard to be friends? Dan obviously didn’t care.

They arrived at the Headmistress’ quarters and Filch said a password that Phil didn’t hear. The gargoyle statue allowed them to enter, and Phil stepped onto the winding staircase, letting it take him upwards to his doom. 

The room was breathtaking. Portraits of every Headmaster and mistress in all of Hogwarts history hung on the walls, and what wasn’t covered by portraits was covered with bookshelves. In the corner of the room was what looked like an old bird perch, but it was obvious it hadn’t been used in years. There was a cabinet that seemed to hold thousands of glowing white vials. Scattered around the room were notes, parchment, and moving photos covering almost every deskspace. At the center of the room, writing in the dim candlelight, was Headmistress McGonagall. She glanced up when they came in.

“Mr. Lester, if you could quit your staring and have a seat, that would be wonderful.”

Phil swallowed and sat nervously in a plush chair next to her desk. McGonagall kept writing, not looking up at the two. 

“Argus, you may leave. Thank you for bringing Mr. Lester.”

“Yes, mum,” Filch said and walked out. 

After he left, McGonagall set down her quill and looked sternly at Phil over the tops of her oval glasses. “You’re Phil Lester?”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Now, Mr. Lester, what were you doing roaming the corridors this late at night?”

“What time is it?” Phil asked, noticing he hadn’t known the whole time exactly how long he overslept. He guessed it was about nine p.m.

“It’s one sixteen in the morning. That, however, does not answer my question.”

One sixteen? How had he overslept that much? He fidgeted his hands, trying to decide on what to say to McGonagall. Telling the truth never occurred to him. Even if he wanted to, he could never tell the whole truth and nothing good would come of it. 

“I was trying to get to the Ravenclaw common room to visit my friend and I got lost.”

“What is this friend’s name?”

“They would probably not like me saying,” Phil said boldly. 

“Fair enough. They’re not the person who broke the rules. For whatever reason you did it, I have to follow the rules myself, as Headmistress. Wandering around after curfew is against Hogwarts rules, Mr. Lester, and I must make sure you know this. As well as this, I will have you know that students visiting common rooms that are not their own is forbidden. Since you may not have known this, I will simply give you a warning. Fifteen points will be taken from Gryffindor for your actions. Do you have any questions?”

Phil sat in silence, staring at his hands. He had been so idiotic as to trust Dan. Dan was a Slytherin and Phil should have known that it was only a matter of time before Dan showed his true colours and played him like this. Dan had probably planned with Cat to set Phil up and make him get in trouble. Why had he been so _stupid_?

“No, ma’am,” Phil said, his voice barely a whisper. He found with surprise that there were tears in his eyes. He focused on not letting them fall. He stood up and began walking away.

“Mr. Lester, are you quite alright?”

Phil paused a little too long to try and keep his voice even. “Yes ma’am.”

The next day, Phil walked up to Dan after breakfast, a hard look on his face. When Dan saw Phil, his face as well became void of emotion.

“We need to talk,” Phil said, an edge to his voice. “Do not ditch me, we’re going to talk tonight in the empty classroom on the third floor. Don’t be late.”

Then, without waiting for Dan to respond, Phil walked away, focusing on seeming stoic and unemotional. With ten minutes till class, he hurried to the boys’ bathroom by his first class and went into a stall. There, he cried. This had all fallen apart so quickly. Just three months ago he had assumed that he and Dan would be friends forever. He had designed their friendship bracelets as a symbol that he was sure they would never not be friends. Now that version of himself seemed young. How naive he had been, trusting a Slytherin. His mother had warned him to watch out, and he had been so...blind. Something about Dan had convinced Phil that he was different, that he cared about Phil. Phil had fallen for him--um, he had fallen for Dan’s now obviously faked kindness so well. Phil cried for the better part of the passing period. He made himself stop and exited the stall, trying to will his face into being less red, trying to keep his eyes from being puffy. He wished he knew a spell like that.

After he decided he looked normal enough, he made it to class right before it started. Then, he let the day pass.

After classes, he found Dan by his eighth hour class and pulled him by the arm in the direction of the abandoned classroom. 

“Hey!” Dan said, wrenching his arm away. “Don’t touch me!”

“Fine by me. I wasn’t going to let you skip _this_ talk, though.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

“That’s good for both of us then.”

Phil led Dan to the unused classroom, frequently checking behind him to see if he was following. Luckily, Dan didn’t seem to have any intent on leaving. They arrived in the room, and Phil locked the door after Dan came in. They were completely alone.

“What’s wrong with you?” Phil whispered, trying to keep himself together.

“What do you mean?”

“You ditched me on our talk yesterday, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Cat--”

“What’s your problem with Cat?” Dan said defensively. 

Phil tried to explain. He opened his mouth to say everything. Instead, he simply looked kind of constipated and frustrated. When he couldn’t say anything, he tried to explain the spell. “She--”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. “I-I’ll write it down.”

He pulled out a quill and found an old piece of parchment in a drawer and an inkpot.

_Cat,_ was all he could write before his hand started shaking so much he couldn’t write legibly any more.

“I can’t tell you,” Phil finally said, panting a little from straining against the spell.

“Why not?” Dan retorted, apparently having missed how much strain Phil had been in just to write the word Cat. 

“I can’t tell you,” Phil repeated.

“Of course you can’t. Because you don’t have any reason other than your stupid jealousy that I’m talking to someone other than you! Cat is a good person and cares about me a lot, which is more than I can say for you!” Dan snarled.

“That’s not true!” Phil responded. He tried to summarise what happened in a vague enough way to get around the spell. “She’s not who you think she is!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Dan shouted, his eyes getting shiny. “You have such bad trust issues that you can’t accept me finding someone other that you who’s good for me!”

“No I don’t! Just trust me, please, Dan! She’s not a good person!”

“She’s a better friend than you ever were!”

“I can’t believe you! I should’ve known never to trust a Slytherin!” Phil spat the last word like poison.

“And I should’ve never liked a dumb, brash Gryffindor like YOU!”

“I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY!” Phil yelled.  
“THAT WAS THE WHOLE PROBLEM!” Dan turned and ran from the room, tears streaming down his face.

Phil stared into the space where Dan used to be and reflexively fiddled with his friendship bracelet. But when he moved his hand to find the bracelet, he found bare skin. He looked down at his arm, and then the floor. He picked up the now greyscale bracelet and held it in his hands. He sat on the floor, cross-legged and silent. Then, before his eyes, he watched as the bracelet unraveled into grey thread in his hands. He held the thread hugged his knees to his chest. 

Then, sobs racked his body and tore through his throat and the tears spilled out of his eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been three years since their fight, and Dan and Phil are still dealing with the repercussions.

Dan held his partner’s hand, swinging it happily. He finally felt happy with life, because he was right next to his favourite person in the world. He looked at her.

“You’re pretty amazing, Cat,” Dan said, smiling happily. “I’m glad you’ve always been here for me. Thank you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else than by your side,” Cat said.

“You’re so cheesy,” Dan laughed. “I love it.”

Dan squeezed Cat’s hand lovingly and reluctantly let go. Unfortunately, they had to go to separate classes. Dan had to go to year 4 Transfiguration, and Cat to year 5 Astronomy, so they split up in the corridor. Cat was so nice, so kind. She had been right by 

Dan’s side ever since the very beginning of year 1. During winter break this year, Cat had asked Dan to be in a relationship, and he had quickly said yes. That was one week ago. Cat was always looking out for him, and he for her. Though, he admitted, she needed looking out for far less than him.

After the events of year 1, and after Dan had stopped talking to… “him,” Dan had noticed a dramatic decrease in the bullying he had experienced. Of course, there was the odd Gryffindor who picked on him, but after he began to excel in Charms, specifically hexes and jinxes, many people became too afraid to pick on him. He found that he liked being feared. No one who he didn’t want around him ever bothered him. He was known as the most terrifying and proficient student in his whole year and he relished in the feeling of people cowering and moving out of his way wherever he walked. He could simply look menacingly in a certain direction and people would scramble out of the way. He could have everything he wanted.  
On this day, Dan was heading to Transfiguration. He, sadly, had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. He did his best to disregard them. They were all loud and obnoxious and overly cocky. Especially one group. “His” group. Dan tried his hardest to ignore that group of Gryffindors. He preferred not to notice that particular Gryffindor. He preferred not to think about “him” at all. 

He put his bookbag down, sat in his seat, and got out _Achievements in Charming_ , an O.W.L. level Charms book that had recently captivated him. He read until class started and then listened attentively to Professor Chang talk about turning things like tables into beds if one is in a poor situation. The students were asked to try this on their desks. Dan tried desperately, imagining the bed in his mind and then speaking the spell. He saw it flicker once and smelled clean sheets for a millisecond, but it was gone as soon as it came. Unwitting, he glanced across the room. He saw “him” standing over a perfect bed, beaming. Of course “he” had gotten it on the first try. Dan looked away quickly. He would not be caught staring at a Gryffindor. Especially not that Gryffindor. After their last fight in year 2, Dan had sworn not even to think his name, much less speak to him or look interested in him at all. Dan sometimes found himself wishing he were back in year one with “him” when everything seemed okay. Now he felt lonely for some reason, despite him having a beautiful girlfriend whom he dearly loved. He wished he could figure out what was missing.

Transfiguration ended with no event, and Dan walked as fast as possible to his next class, fifth year Charms. When Professor Abbott had seen how skilled Dan was with a wand and an enchantment, she had put him in Charms with the class above him. Luckily for Dan, this put him in Charms with Cat.

He entered the classroom and sat beside her. She kissed him on the lips lightly before Professor Abbott saw. Once the Professor had caught them kissing more deeply and threatened to split them up. They happily agreed to only kiss when she wasn’t looking. They did hold hands under the desk, though. Dan was holding her hand, tracing his thumb along hers, when Professor Abbott called on him to give an example of a Hardening Charm. When she said this, there were a few snickers from the class, including from Dan. She rolled her eyes and gestured to the test dummy she had set up.

“Go ahead, Mr. Howell. Make the dummy hard,” She said, winking at the class, which erupted into laughter. Professor Abbott was known for her light humour.

Dan stood, letting go of Cat’s hand. He squared his shoulders, trying not to look as embarrassed as he felt. He hated how often Professor Abbott called on him to demonstrate. He was good at it, but he didn’t like being stared at by everyone. He had never done a Hardening Charm before, but he would have no problem with it. A stone bench that Dan could sense to his left had this Charm on it and from that, he could figure out how to do it. It was simple really. The Charms on objects left a sort of magical residue from when it was cast, and because of this Dan could find out how to do the spell. He raised his wand, having only hesitated for a second.

“ _Duro_ ,” He spoke at the dummy, channeling the magic through his wand and imagining the dummy turning to shining white marble.

The dummy’s chest turned white and black speckled, then hardened, and the spell progressed around it’s body. 

The year fives looked at him in awe and jealousy as the dummy finished it’s transformation into solid granite. Dan chastised himself internally. He had wanted it to be marble. Now it was granite? He would have to work on that.

“Good job as always, Mr. Howell. You may take a seat,” Professor Abbott said. Dan sat, putting away his wand and folding his hands in his lap.

Cat glanced at him as if waiting for him to do something. When he didn’t seem to get what she wanted him to do, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand under the desk. He blushed. Of course she had wanted him to hold her hand. She was so romantic. He smiled at her apologetically and she smiled back.

Merlin, did he love her.

*****

Phil sat on his bed with his nose buried in the _Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare_ when Hannah pounced on top of him. After the flash of surprise, he realised who it was and started laughing.

“Hannah, I was reading!” He protested to the Hufflepuff who was now pinning him to the bed.

“No, you were being boring. Instead of _reading_ about brooms, let’s go fly them!”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Fine, but I get Louise on my team.”

“No fair!”

“You can have PJ on your team!” Phil said.

Hannah relented. “Okay, fine. Now let’s go!”

The two raced out of the room, pulling Chris along with them out of the common room. Hannah went to the Hufflepuff common room to retrieve Louise, and Phil decided he would be the one to try to get into the Ravenclaw common room.

“We hurt without moving, we poison without touching, we bear the truth and lies. We are not judged by our size. What are we?” The Ravenclaw common room door asked.

Phil thought for a moment. “Er, uhm, carbon monoxide?”

The door was silent.

“Alcohol!”

“We hurt without moving. We poison without touching. We bear the truth and lies. We are not judged by our size. What are we?” The door repeated. Phil thought it sounded a little contemptuous now.

“Er…,” he said. “Words?”

The door swung open. He pumped his fist and entered the Ravenclaw common room. Technically it was against Hogwarts rules for people to enter other common rooms than their own House’s, but almost no students followed this rule. Occasionally, a desperate couple or rowdy student would get discovered and get detention, but the students had become very creative in keeping these antics a secret. It had become an unspoken student code to never turn in someone visiting another House’s common room, even if you didn’t know them. If a Ravenclaw was visiting a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin happened to see, no one would make a fuss. No one would tell. It was silent agreements like these that kept the network of more adult happenings at Hogwarts secret and unnoticed by teachers.

The Ravenclaw common room was like walking into a library. The smell of books, the feeling of quiet, courteous peace, the soft and calming lighting. Everything about it was angled towards learning and calm. Although Ravenclaw was not Phil’s home, he thought he might have liked it there, in another life. It was a circular room, with arches leading up the dome ceiling.The walls were covered in tapestries and quilts, both dimming sound and decorating the room. In the large, open space, there were many different loveseats and sofas and armchairs, each with assorted tables around them. Students sat in groups around coffee tables working on projects or building experiments, while others read quietly in the armchairs or by the fire that was placed squarely in the centre of the room. At the top of the dome-shaped ceiling were semicircle windows allowing in natural light. The floor was burgundy hardwood floors and an ornate, royal blue rug on each side of the fire.  
Phil, having visited Ravenclaw commons frequently, got a few “hello”s and waves from the students milling around the room or seated around tables. He found PJ analysing a blueprint for what looked like very complex articles of clothing. Phil looked down at it as he began talking to PJ.

“Are you inventing another version of your multicoloured clothes, PJ?” Phil asked.

“If I can perfect this,” PJ began thoughtfully. “Then I may have invented clothes that have whatever pattern you want! Now if I can just…”  
PJ crossed out one of the notes he had written and wrote something over it.

“Hey, PJ?” Phil said.

“What? Oh, yes!” PJ said, and Phil realised that PJ had forgotten he was there, lost in his work. Phil smiled. “What do you need?”

“Two things. One, don’t you have a Divination project due tomorrow?”

“Er, yes, I do. Why?”

“Because you’re working on this,” Phil teased.

“This is more important,” PJ said matter-of-factly.

“Right. Anyway, secondly, do you want to play Quidditch with us?”

PJ, somewhat reluctantly, pulled his eyes away from the blueprints. “Sure, that sounds fun. Let’s go then!”

Phil and PJ sped out of Ravenclaw common room, meeting up with Hannah, Louise, Chris, and Tyler. Chris had gotten Tyler from the kitchens, from where they had also brought snacks. Then, the six students made their way down to the Quidditch green together, munching on pastries and pudding. With three-on-three, it made a pretty fun game, even though Phil and Louise teamed up meant that they won almost every time. Louise had come into their group in year 3 and had not disappointed. She was seeker on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and excelled in Potions, though not as much as Hannah. On a normal day, Louise and Hannah could be found in their dorm, experimenting with potions and salves. The two had made a fairly solid black-market of remedies, prank potions, and even potions that had the power of marijuana or LSD with no side effects. Louise and Hannah were well-known among all Houses because of this and made a decent amount of money from this practise.

After a few hours of playing, they got tired and decided to go in. Hannah was telling of an event during the day.

“So this Ravenclaw sixth year comes up to me and I know it’s gonna be weird, cause he had, like, this vibe around him that told me he was not someone to mess with but anyways he comes up to me and asks me for a bottle of Venomous Tentacula Juice and I’m like, ‘no, you can’t have that I don’t make harmful stuff’ and he says to me that one of his friends told him I could ‘hook him up’ and I basically told him to go away because I don’t do that! He wanted a poison that burns people from the inside out! Why did he want that?” Hannah said breathlessly.

“So this guy thought you sold poisons?” Chris said incredulously.

“Yeah, and a harmful one at that! What did he want it for? Merlin, I hope people don’t think I sell stuff like that all the time!”

Phil thought about this. For some reason, that story seemed familiar to him. Did he know that sixth-year Ravenclaw? Or maybe the poison he had asked for? Phil felt as though the answer was within his mind, but just out of reach, so that his memory was still clouded. He pushed it to the back of his mind. It was probably nothing.

The group of friends made their way back to the castle, trading stories. Tyler had jinxed a bothersome Slytherin so that they could only speak in rhymes, Chris had accidently had what was supposed to be a Boil-Curing Salve turn into pink powder when applied to his skin, and he had the shimmering pink mark on his skin to prove it. PJ was just about to invent pattern-changing socks and talked incessantly about the logistics of colour magic combined with the useful spells one could apply to socks, like self-cleaning and forever-softness. PJ was so excited about this that his own undershirt turned a bright green. Phil giggled. Louise was trying to make potions that decreased how much someone sweat and face applicants that kept makeup from coming off or smearing until the antidote was used, so that fancy gatherings were less stressful. Hannah, along with Louise, was running their black market potion shop. All was well with the group.

Phil made it up to his dormitory, bid goodnight to his friends, and pulled the curtains closed around his bed. He drifted off to sleep.

Phil was in the Gryffindor common room, in his pyjamas. There was someone on the bed next to him, but he was reading and couldn’t be bothered. Besides, whoever was next to him made him very happy and peaceful. He assumed it was Louise, but why would Louise be on his bed in the Gryffindor common room? Phil turned his head to look at the person next to him. Phil recognised the brown eyes, sparkling in the lamplight, and the meticulously straightened hair, matching the boy’s eyes. Phil found himself wanting something, but he couldn’t tell what. He simply smiled. The boy smiled back. Phil vaguely remembered that he should be angry at this boy, but he couldn’t imagine why. The boy picked up Phil’s hand and played with his fingers. Phil looked down in wonder, and noticed that he was wearing a bracelet. A red, silver, green, and gold handmade bracelet. Phil watched the bracelet turn grey and disintegrate, and pulled his hand away from the boy, but it was too late. The greying and cracking spread up the boy’s arm where he had been holding Phil’s hand and Phil saw the expression on his face change to that of betrayal and anger and something more. Phil couldn’t stop the boy from turning into dust, and he realised what the other emotion was, right before the boy was gone forever.

Phil had seen pure, raw heartbreak in Dan’s eyes.

Phil felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he pawed through the dust on his bedclothes, looking for some sign that Dan was still alive. He felt the familiar sobs racking his body, he couldn’t stop, he wanted Dan back, how could he have let this happen?

Then Phil woke up.


End file.
